Nio, XPeng and Li Auto reported China EV sales for March and the first quarter.
Further, EV and battery giant BYD also plans to report March and Q1 sales.
BYD, a major rival to Tesla in China, said Wednesday that Q1 sales are still expected to grow more than 80%, year over year. That comes despite an escalating EV price war, triggered by Tesla, since January.
On Friday, BYD reportedly shared images of a new model, called the Seagull, on the microblogging site Weibo. The Seagull is expected to be an extremely affordable electric hatchback for city dwellers, possibly using a new type of EV battery.
Warren Buffett-backed BYD outsells Tesla in China and is expanding in several overseas markets. Tesla is likely to report global first-quarter sales this weekend as well.
NIO
Nio delivered 10,378 vehicles in March, up 3.9% vs. a year earlier. But unlike most China EV makers, Nio’s sales fell vs. the prior month, down nearly 15% vs. February’s 12,157. March deliveries included 3,203 SUVs and 7,175 sedans.
Q1 deliveries totaled 31,041, just above the low end of its forecast for 31,000-33,000 vehicles.
Analysts are looking for Nio’s EV sales to improve significantly in Q2, as new models roll out and production ramps up.
Nio stock gained 0.5% to 10.51 Friday, after reclaiming its 50-day line Thursday. Shares vaulted nearly 16% for the week, still below their 200-day.
LI AUTO
Li Auto, which sells hybrid SUVs, reported March deliveries of 20,823, up 89% vs. a year earlier. That’s up 25% vs. 16,620 in February. Q1 sales totaled 52,584, at the lower end of its late February forecast of 52,000-55,000.
March sales will include the new L7, a five-seat electric SUV. Li Auto launched the L7 on Feb. 8.
LI stock fell 1.5% to 24.95 Friday. Li Auto shares are just below a 25.46 double-bottom buy point of 25.46, which is just above the 200-day line.
XPENG
XPeng deliveries in March plunged nearly 55% vs. a year earlier to 7,002, but that was a 16.5% gain vs. February’s 6,010. P7 sedan sales grew 32% vs. February to 3,010, but didn’t give a breakdown between the P7 and refreshed version, the P7i.
Q1 deliveries were 18,230 vehicles, at the lower end of its guidance for 18,000-19,000.
XPeng hailed strong reception for the P7i sedan, a refreshed version of its P7 that was just launched in March. P7 series sales rose 32% in March vs. February to 3,030.
Recent commentary from XPeng management suggests a strong second-half 2023 sales rebound.
XPEV stock shed 2.5% to 11.11 Friday. XPeng shares still leapt 15.5% for the week as they rallied from near the 50-day line.
BYD EV SALES
BYD sold 151,341 electric vehicles, including hybrids, in January and 193,655 EVs in February. The combined two-month total of 344,996 vehicles jumped 90% year over year,according to data tracked by CnEVPost.
An 80% increase for the first quarter suggests BYD sold roughly 515,400 vehicles during the period, or about 170,000 vehicles in March. The automaker sold 286,329 vehicles in the year-ago quarter.
On Tuesday, BYD posted skyrocketing earnings for the fourth quarter and full-year 2022. But after Tesla set off a fierce EV price war, BYD reportedly has reduced both production and prices.
The Financial Times said Tuesday that Tesla’s move to slash prices in China has backfired, as it loses share to BYD. In January and February, BYD’s share of EV sales grew to more than 40% from 34% last year, while Tesla’s fell slightly to 7.8%.
Sometime in Q2, the highly anticipated Seagull is expected to go on sale and could help BYD to further grow its share. It’s likely to be smaller than BYD’s current smallest car, the Dolphin, and to start below 100,000 yuan ($15,000), according to local media. Competition is growing in the sub-100,000 segment.
The Seagull could be one of the first electric vehicles to use sodium-ion batteries, which promise various advantages over traditional lithium-ion batteries.
BYD stock, which trades over the counter, rose 0.5% to 29.40 in Friday’s stock market action, up 9.8% for the week.
Shares have reclaimed the 21-day and 50-day lines this week, closing in on the 200-day line. BYD stock is working on a 34.04 consolidation buy point, but a decisive move above the 200-day could offer an early entry.
As of Friday, BYD stock was up 19.7% in 2023. It slumped 27.7% in 2022.
CHINA EV SALES
The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) expects China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sales to continue to recover in March from February.
Retail sales of NEVs, which include hybrid-electric vehicles, are expected to reach 560,000 units, up 25.8% from a year ago and up 27.5% from February, the CPCA said.
The Chinese car market performed poorly in January and February, but February showed improvement vs. January. And demand began to rebound in March, the CPCA said.
China EV sales more than doubled in 2021 and 2022. But they are expected to sharply slow to around 31% growth this year.
The slowdown comes amid macro headwinds and the end of EV subsidies at the start of 2023.