Al Root and Elsa Ohlen
Deliveries from key Chinese electric vehicle makers were solid. That's good for all EV makers, including Tesla.
Li reported its delivery figures first, late Monday night in the U.S. It delivered 53,708 vehicles in September, up from 36,060 delivered in September 2023. For the quarter, Li delivered almost 153,000 vehicles, up about 45% year over year, and at the high end of its guidance range given in August of 145,000 to 155,000 vehicles.
Li stock was up 8.4% in overseas trading shortly after the results were released.
However, it was not all good news coming from China's EV makers. NIO delivered 15,641 vehicles in September, it said early Tuesday. That means for the third quarter it delivered about 55,000 cars, which is below its guidance range given in September of 60,000 to 64,000 vehicles. Deliveries were still up 75% compared with the same quarter last year.
NIO's deliveries miss didn't seem to discourage investors, though. the company's U.S.-listed American depositary receipts (ADRs) were up 6% in premarket trading at $7.08 while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
XPeng delivered 21,352 vehicles. For the quarter, it delivered about 43,500 cars -- a year-over-year increase of 16% and within its guidance range given in August of 41,000 to 45,000 vehicles.
XPeng's U.S.-listed ADRs were up 3.4% in premarket trading.
Combined, the trio delivered 90,701 cars -- the best combined month ever and up from 66,831 vehicles delivered in September 2023.
Delivery growth is one thing investors want to see. Through September, the trio has delivered some 586,000 EVs, up about 35% year over year.
Stiffer EV competition, however, has meant lower pricing and challenged profitability, things that have weighed on investor sentiment. Coming into Tuesday trading, shares of Li, NIO, and XPeng weare down an average of about 25% so far this year. That decline comes despite shares rising an average of 50% over the past month.
Chinese EV stocks, along with many other Chinese shares, reacted positively to news that the government was undertaking new measures, such as interest-rate reductions, to stimulate the economy.
Investors hope stimulus leads to faster EV sales growth down the road.
Tesla generates about one third of its sales in China, the largest market for new EVs. Its shares were rising a modest 0.2% in early premarket trading at $262.16.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com and Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com
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October 01, 2024 05:41 ET (09:41 GMT)
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