Li Auto on Monday announced a solid initial reception for the L6, its newest model taking aim at Tesla and the Chinese EV mass market. Li Auto stock jumped.
Among other China EV stocks, Nio continued to bounce back from recent lows, with BYD in buy range.
Ahead of first-quarter earnings, Li Auto reported that orders for the L6 surpassed 41,000 units between April 18 and May 5.
The L6, starting at 249,800 RMB (roughly $34,600), shows that Li Auto is moving squarely into China's mainstream EV market, a hotbed of recent activity. Traditionally, Li has focused on high-end hybrid SUVs, priced above or well above 300,000 RMB.
The pricing of Li's L6 undercuts the Model Y, Tesla's top seller in China, by around 5%, according to Chinese media reports.
Li's startup peers Nio and XPeng are expanding in the mass market for cars as well, with sub-brands called Onvo and Mona, respectively.
Tesla aggressively cut prices in April amid the ongoing China EV price war.
Li Auto Stock, China EV Stocks
Shares of Li Auto popped 4.3% to 29.20, on the stock market today. Tesla rose 1.9% Monday.
Li Auto stock has come off its 52-week low, set in late April, but remains down 22% year to date.
For much of 2023, Li stock soared amid robust earnings, with its hybrid-electric vehicles in demand while overall China EV sales slowed.
Shares hit a 52-week high of 46.44 in late February, then plunged as March sales came in far below views.
Nio stock gained 2.3% Monday. Shares have surged from the April 22 low of 3.61. The EV startup reported especially strong April deliveries, up 31.6% vs. March.
A more attractive battery-as-a-service (BaaS) offering, in which Nio buyers rent the battery, helped fuel gains. Nio also refreshed its EV models.
Shares of BYD and XPeng edged lower Monday.
Last week, BYD stock broke out from a short consolidation as it cleared the 200-day moving average. Unlike most other EV stocks, BYD shares hold a gain in 2024, up 5%.
BYD, the world's leading EV maker, recently reported that Q1 net income rose 10% with revenue up 4%, both slightly missing. But gross margins hit a record, despite big price cuts to spur demand.
Several Chinese EV makers posted higher deliveries in April, signaling a recovery in demand amid continuing price wars.
Li Auto was an exception, with deliveries declining 11% vs. March. That's despite price cuts on most of its lineup and initial L6 deliveries.
The five-seat L6 SUV debuted in April as Li's latest extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV, a type of plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle. The Li L6 targets "young families," with large-scale deliveries planned for May, the company has said.
More generally, early May Labor Day holidays tend to boost China EV sales. Further to that, China is now incentivizing consumers to scrap older gas-burning cars to buy EVs or lower-emission combustion-engine vehicles by year-end.
