For those looking to find strong Auto-Tires-Trucks stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has NIO (NIO) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.NIO is one of 105 companies in the Auto-Tires-Trucks group. The Auto-Tires-Trucks group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. NIO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NIO's full-year earnings has moved 15.12% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.According to our latest data, NIO has moved about -20% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Auto-Tires-Trucks companies have returned an average of 0.79%. This means that NIO is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.Breaking things down more, NIO is a member of the Automotive - Foreign industry, which includes 23 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 5.69% this year, meaning that NIO is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.Investors in the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector will want to keep a close eye on NIO as it attempts to continue its solid performance.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NIO Inc. (NIO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.