BYD has stopped producing gasoline vehicles after more than quadrupling China EV sales in March. Xpeng Motors tripled and Li Auto more than doubled sales of electric vehicles last month, outpacing Nio. BYD and Nio stock soared Monday as delisting fears eased.
Over the weekend, Beijing's top financial watchdog said it would change confidentiality laws in a bid to stop around 270 Chinese companies from being delisted on U.S. exchanges, bowing to pressure from Washington.
China EV Sales Rebound In March
In March, BYD sold 104,878 electric and hybrid vehicles, up 333% vs. a year earlier, according to Chinese media reports. March EV sales rebounded 20% from February.
BYD's March total included 53,664 all-electric vehicles, up 229% from a year earlier. Plug-in hybrid sales skyrocketed 615% to 50,674.
In March, Warren Buffett-backed BYD crossed the 100,000 EV sales mark for the first time. As of March 31, BYD has stopped producing vehicles that rely solely on gasoline, a company spokesperson confirmed to IBD Monday. Going forward, BYD will exclusively manufacture battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), the spokesperson said. On April 3, CnEVPost.com reported that BYD's shifting entirely to electric vehicles.
Amid the EV sales boom in China, electric vehicles already account for nearly all of BYD's overall passenger vehicle sales. In 2018, EVs made up less than half of BYD's total vehicle sales.
The first quarter of the year is traditionally slower for China EV sales, amid the Lunar New Year holiday. In January and February, BYD and China startups grew EV deliveries at a robust year-over-year pace, but saw month-over-month declines.
Nio sold 9,985 EVs in March, growing 38% vs. a year earlier and rebounding 63% from February. The March delivery total included 163 ET7 luxury electric sedans, which Nio began delivering to customers on March 28. In Q1 as a whole, Nio delivered 25,768 EVs, near the high end of its forecasted range and up 29% year over year. Nio delivered 9,652 EVs in January and 6,131 in February.
XPeng sold 15,414 EVs in March, up 202% vs. a year earlier and up 148% vs. February. Q1 deliveries hit 34,561 vehicles, above Xpeng's forecasted range and up 159% year over year. Xpeng delivered 12,922 units in January and 6,225 EVs in February.
Li Auto sold 11,034 Li One hybrid SUVs in March, up 125% vs. a year earlier and up 31% from February. Li delivered 31,716 vehicles for the quarter, near the high end of its forecasted range and up 152% year over year. The startup reported 12,268 deliveries in January and 8,414 in February.
On April 16, Li Auto will unveil the L9 SUV, its second model. A shortage of auto parts from the Covid-19 resurgence in China is hitting overall production, Li Auto President Yanan Shen said in Friday's release.
The Chinese EV startups are emerging rivals to Tesla in China, the world's largest market for electric cars. They sell mostly on home turf but are starting to expand in Europe.
Warren Buffett-backed BYD has ramped up its challenge to Tesla in China, with booming electric vehicle (EV) sales.
On Saturday, Tesla announced first-quarter deliveries of about 310,000 vehicles. The total, which met estimates, marked a quarterly record and an increase from some 309,000 deliveries in the fourth quarter.
In 2021, China EV sales surged 169% to a record 2.99 million vehicles.
Delisting Fears Ease
BYD jumped 8.8% on the stock market today, gapping above its 50-day moving average and closing above that key level for the first time since Dec. 10. BYD stock remains below its 200-day line. Nio stock also leapt 8.8%, rebounding from its 50-day line. Xpeng climbed 7.6% and Li Auto advanced 5.2%. On Monday, Tesla stock gained 5.6% after its record Q1 deliveries over the weekend.
China EV stocks remain well off highs after tanking in the past year, due in part to delisting fears.
Those fears resurfaced in March. On Friday, U.S.-listed Chinese stocks had bounced on a Bloomberg report that Beijing is willing to give U.S. auditors full access to over 200 Chinese companies listed in New York. That followed a report Thursday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission placed more Chinese companies on a provisional list of potential delistings, including Baidu.
