Combined deliveries from NIO, XPeng and Li Auto rose in March month over month and year over year.
Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
Investors want to see electric vehicle sales growing, despite any headwinds such as a slowing economy. Chinese electric vehicle makers
NIO,
Li Auto
and
XPeng
gave them what they want.
On Saturday,
NIO
(ticker: NIO) and
XPeng
(XPEV) reported March delivery numbers.
Li Auto
(LI) updated investors late on Friday, March 31. Combined, the three EV makers delivered 38,203 vehicles in March, up from 34,787 delivered in February and up from the 36,433 units delivered in March 2022.
Growth is good. Wall Street expects Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) sales to rise by 30% to 40% in 2023 compared with 2022.
That category includes all battery-electric vehicles as well as plug-in hybrid vehicles. In 2022, about 5.9 million NEVs were sold in China, including roughly 4.4 million all battery-electric vehicles. NIO, Li and XPeng account for roughly 10% of the market for all-battery electric vehicles.
Results from all three companies were as expected, but not all three managed to post growth. XPeng delivered 7,002 vehicles in March, up from 6,010 delivered in February, but down from the 15,414 it delivered in March 2022. For the quarter, XPeng delivered 18,230 vehicles, within the company’s guided range of 18,000 to 19,000 vehicles, but down from 34,561 delivered in the first quarter of 2022.
NIO didn’t manage to grow month over month, but results from the entire quarter look better. It delivered 10,378 units in March, down from 12,157 delivered in February, but up from 9,985 delivered in March 2022. For the quarter, NIO delivered 31,041 vehicles, within the company’s guided range of 31,000 and 33,000 vehicles and up from the 25,768 vehicles delivered in first quarter of 2022.
Results from Li look strongest among the three. Li Auto delivered 20,823 vehicles in March up from 16,620 delivered in February and up from 11,034 delivered in March of 2022. For the quarter, Li delivered 52,584 vehicles, within the company’s guided range of 52,000 and 55,000 vehicles and up from 31,716 vehicles delivered in the first quarter of 2022.
Shares of the three stocks aren’t trading. Results are all as expected so investors might expect stocks to be stable on the numbers, but calling stock reactions to any one data point is always difficult.
Shares of all three are down over the past 12 months. XPeng shares have been hit hardest. Coming into Monday trading, XPeng shares are off 62% over the past 12 months. NIO stock is down 52% over that span. Li shares have held up the best, falling only 8% over the past 12 months.
That stock performance aligns with recent growth of the three companies. XPeng has delivered 104,426 over the past 12 months, down 13% from the 119,376 vehicles delivered between April 2021 and March 2022. NIO has delivered 127,759 vehicles over the past 12 months, up about 32% over the comparable year ago period. And Li has delivered 154,114 vehicles over the past 12 months, up 41% from the 109,628 vehicles delivered in the comparable year ago period.
The
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
are off about 10% and 14%, respectively, over the past 12 moths.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
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