BYD surpassed Tesla in all-electric vehicles, with Li Auto and XPeng reporting record deliveries yet again in December. Nio also topped guidance.
But BYD and other China EV stocks fell to start 2024.
Tesla reported record global fourth-quarter deliveries early Tuesday. The deliveries data comes as the China EV price war continues to intensify. TSLA closed little changed Tuesday.
BYD Sales
BYD sold a record 341,043 EVs in December, pushing its 2023 sales to 3,012,906, topping its full-year target of 3 million EVs, including plug-in hybrids. That was up 45% vs. a year earlier vs. and 13% vs. November's old record of 301,903. BYD ramped up discounts to hit its goal amid the fierce EV price war.
BYD passenger sales of fully battery electric vehicles (BEVs) hit 190,754 in December, soaring to 526,409 in Q4. That bested Tesla for the first time.
Total EV sales in Q4 hit 942,779.
BYD brand sales hit 321,570 units in December. For its premium brands, the established Denza sold 11,929 units. The brand-new Fangchengbao sold 5,086 Bao 5 off-road vehicles. The superpremium Yangwang sold 1,593 U8 off-road vehicles.
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Li Auto Deliveries
Li Auto reported a record 50,353 EVs in December, up 137% vs. a year earlier and 23% vs. November. It sold 131,805 in Q4, above its expected range, with full-year deliveries up 182% to 376,030.
Li Auto sells the L7, L8 and L9 SUVs. They're extended-range vehicles, essentially plug-in hybrids.
Li Auto hinted that it might strive for 100,000 monthly deliveries by the end of 2024.
On Dec. 31, Li Auto pushed back the official launch of its first all-electric vehicle, the high-end Mega minivan to March 1 from December. Deliveries are now set to start in early March.
XPeng Deliveries
XPeng deliveries hit a record 20,155 in December, nudging past 20,000 vehicles for a third straight month. That was up 78.1% vs. a year earlier. Sales sold 60,158 vehicles in Q4, toward the lower end of its range for 59,500-63,500.
XPeng officially launched its X9 minivan at $50,100-$57,900, slightly lower than expected. Deliveries will start this month. It had received over 30,000 pre-orders.
Nio Deliveries
Nio delivered 18,012 EVs in December and 50,045 for the fourth quarter, exceeding its Q4 target for 47,000-49,000. Monthly deliveries, up 13.9% vs. a year earlier, included 12,048 SUVs and 5,965 sedans.
The Tesla rival sold 15,959 in November.
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Tesla Deliveries
Tesla delivered 484,507 EVs in Q4, beating analyst views of 480,463, according to consensus compiled by Tesla. Full-year deliveries hit 1.81 million, just topping the company's 1.8 million target. Credit strong China sales.
EV Stocks
BYD stock fell 3% Tuesday to 26.85. Shares rose 4.6% to 27.68 in the final week of 2023, but after hitting a nine-month low of 24.95 on Dec. 22.
Li Auto stock tumbled 7.6% to 34.59, back below the 50-day. LI surged 12.7% last week, reclaiming the 200-day and 50-day lines. Shares have a 47.33 consolidation buy point. But LI stock has a trendline entry around 40 and a short-term high of 42.35 as another early buy area.
XPEV stock declined 3.8% Tuesday to 14.04, just holding the 200-day line. Shares jumped 5.65% last week, rebounding from the 200-day line after four straight weekly declines. XPeng stock is still below its 50-day line.
NIO stock slumped 7.2% to 8.42. Last week, shares popped 7.7% to 9.07, the fourth straight weekly gain after nearly hitting a three-year low. Nio has fallen back from resistance around the 200-day line.
Tesla stock lost 6 cents to 248.42 Tuesday, but still holding the 21-day line. Shares fell 1.6% last week. The Dec. 28 high of 265.13 offers a buy point from a shallow weekly handle on a double-bottom base.
Please follow Ed Carson on X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson, Threads at @edcarson1971 and Bluesky at @edcarson.bsky.social for stock market updates and more.
