China EV giant BYD disclosed January EV sales more than quadrupled after startups Xpeng Motors and Li Auto more than doubled January sales, outselling Nio, which grew sales by one third. That comes after China EV sales boomed in 2021.
BYD stock fell modestly Thursday. Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng stock rose, along with Tesla, after bouncing earlier in the week.
China EV Sales Continue Hot
BYD sold 93,168 so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs) in January, up 362% vs. a year earlier. That's just below December's 93,945, according to CnEVPost.com, which cited a regulatory filing. January's NEV total included 92,926 passenger vehicles. Of those 46,386 were pure electrics, up 221% vs. a year earlier. Plug-in hybrids skyrocketed 761% to 46,540. Fuel-cell vehicles tumbled 90% to 2,254.
Overall, BYD sold 95,422 in January, up 125%. This means that NEV sales accounted for 97.6% of BYD's January total, the report said. NEVs include pure electrics, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles.
In January, Xpeng sold 12,922 EVs, up 115% vs. a year earlier but down from 16,000 in December. Li Auto delivered 12,268 Li One hybrid SUVs last month, up 128% vs. a year earlier but down from 14,087 in December. Nio sold 9,652 EVs, up 33.6% vs. a year earlier but down from 10,489 in December.
XPeng said it's carrying out a technology upgrade at its Zhaoqing plant, part of a scheduled production downtime over the Chinese New Year Holiday. Last October, Nio upgraded its production line and vehicle deliveries dropped sharply that month.
In 2021, China EV sales surged 169% to a record 2.99 million vehicles, or 14.8% of new sales, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). China's electric cars are on track to reach a 20% penetration rate this year, well ahead of the government's 2025 forecast, according to South China Morning Post.
Nio more than doubled EV sales in 2021, despite production shutdowns caused by the global chip shortage. Meanwhile, Li Auto nearly tripled sales for all of 2021. Xpeng and Warren Buffett-backed BYD more than tripled 2021 EV and NEV sales.
China Cutting EV Subsidies
While January EV sales grew year over year, Warren Buffett-backed BYD, as well as Xpeng, Li Auto and Nio, all saw lower sales vs. December.
China cut its EV subsidies by 30% starting Jan. 1, with those incentives set to go away entirely after 2022. But those cuts may not affect sales right away, at least for some EV makers.
In December, Nio said customers who paid for a vehicle by Dec. 31, 2021, and receive it by March 31, 2022, can still avail the subsidies under the 2021 plan. Nio said it would pay the shortfall or difference under the 2022 policy.
Vehicle deliveries in January may also have been delayed by the Chinese New Year holiday, which runs Jan. 31-Feb. 6, and the week before, a peak travel time for the population. In 2021, the holiday began several days later.
Tesla does not release monthly or regional figures, but industry data should reveal Tesla China sales next week.
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Nio Stock, Chinese EV Stocks
Shares of Nio rose 1.5% in the stock market today. Xpeng climbed 1.1% Thursday. Li Auto stock added 1%. All three rebounded earlier this week after plunging last week.
BYD stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., dipped 1.4% after also tumbling last week.
The relative strength lines for the Chinese EV stocks show significant lag, even vs. the weak overall market, according to MarketSmith chart analysis. China's Evergrande property group crisis, delisting fears, and a sharp sell-off for growth stocks in the U.S. are combining to weigh on that key strength indicator.
Chinese EV startups aim to challenge Tesla on home turf and, increasingly, in Europe. Tesla leads premium EV sales in both those major global car markets.
Tesla stock climbed 1.9%. TSLA stock rebounded from its 200-day line early this week.
