Nio(NIO) andXpeng(XPEV) reported monthly and Q1 sales numbers on Thursday, withLi Auto(LI) releasing figures on Friday.BYD Auto(BYDDF) is expected to follow in the coming days. Nio stock and other EV stocks turned lower Monday.
Nio deliveries for March were 7,257, up 373% vs. a year earlier and 30% vs. February, when weeklong Lunar New Year holidays affected sales and production. Q1 sales were 20,060. Last week, Nio said it would halt production for five days starting March 29, citing chip shortages. It also trimmed itsQ1 delivery target to 19,500from 20,000-20,500.
Nio's March sales included 2,576 EC6 crossovers, 3,152 of the ES6 SUV and 1,529 of the larger ES8. The EC6 competes with the made-in-China Tesla and the just-launchedVolkswagen(VWAGY) ID.4, which is far cheaper.
Xpeng deliveries for March were 5,102, up 384% vs a year earlier and 130% vs. February. Q1 sales were 13,340. In March, Xpeng sold 2,855 P7 sedans and 2,247 G3 small SUVs. The P7 sedan competes with the Tesla Model 3.
Li Auto reported March deliveries of 4,900 vehicles, up 239%, with Q1 deliveries up 333% to 12,579. Li Auto makes the Li ONE, an SUV with a small gas engine for extended range.
Also on Friday, Tesla(TSLA) reported globalQ1 deliveries of 184,800 that easily topped Wall Street views.
Last month, the China Passenger Car Association reported that Tesla sold 18,318 vehicles in China in February. Meanwhile, Xpeng delivered 2,223 in February and indicated sales will jump to 4,262 in March. Nio sold 5,578 in February, while Li Auto delivered 2,300 Li ONEs. Warren Buffett-backed BYD Auto sold 10,355 new energy vehicles.
Singapore-based industry tracker Canalys forecasts EV sales of 1.9 million vehicles in China in 2021, vs. 1.3 million in 2020. In total, they will account for a 9% share of all cars sales in China vs. 6.3% in 2020.
Nio Stock, China EV Stocks
Nio stock closed down 0.9% at 39.31 on thestock market today. A February breakout past a 57.30 entry failed, and there's no newbuy pointin sight for Nio stock, according toMarketSmith chart analysis.
Xpengstock lost 2.5% Monday, and Li Auto eased 1.2%. Tesla stock added 4.4%.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives says consumer demand remains robust even as EV production hits a few road bumps.
"Despite the noise/chip shortage, Tesla saw strength in China and the U.S. with EV consumer demand patterns that continued to improve discernibly since the beginning of January with strength seen for Tesla in the months of February and March particularly in China," Ives said in a note to clients.
The sell-off in Nio stock and other EV stocks "creates a massive buying opportunity" to own Chinese EV players as well as Tesla, Ives added.
"While the stocks and the EV space are clearly going through a painful digestion period, we view this as a short-term pullback in a multi-year upward rally," he wrote. "We forecast the EV market represents a $5 trillion total addressable market over the next decade with many EV/OEMs/supply chain players poised to be major winners over the coming years."