Nio (NIO) outsold XPeng (XPEV) and Li Auto (LI) in the third quarter, with the Chinese startups reporting EV sales on Saturday.
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Nio stock rallied Friday as the EV startup began delivering its Model 3 rival, the highly anticipated ET5, to customers in China.
For Nio and Li Auto, new electric vehicles boosted September sales. XPeng debuted a new EV just days ago, but mass deliveries are yet to begin. The trio is pursuing growth after recent headwinds, on both the demand and supply side.
Sometime in early October, Chinese EV and battery giant BYD (BYDDF) will also report EV sales for September and all of Q3. Its U.S. archrival Tesla (TSLA) will disclose global Q3 EV sales around the same time.
Nio Stock
Nio delivered a record 31,607 vehicles in the third quarter, up 29.3% vs. a year earlier and 26.1% vs. Q2. That was in the lower half of its 31,000-33,000 target. For September, Nio delivered 10,878 EVs, up 2.35% vs. year earlier and 1.9% above August’s 10,677.
September deliveries included 7,729 SUVs, including 1,895 of its ES7, which began deliveries on Aug. 28. Nio sold 3,149 sedans, with 2,928 ET7s and 221 ET5s. The luxury ET7 began deliveries in the spring, while the ET5, a Model 3 rival, just began deliveries on Sept. 30.
Nio also has three older SUVs. With three new models on its next-gen and a Europe expansion, Nio expects record deliveries in every month of the fourth quarter.
In Q2, Nio sold 25,059 EVs, trailing XPeng and Li Auto. It was particularly hard hit by Covid shutdowns in China.
Nio outpaced Xpeng and Li Auto in August, delivering 10,677 EVs, a 82% increase year over year.
Nio stock rose 1.2% to 15.77 Friday. Shares of Nio plunged 10.1% in Thursday’s stock market action. They remain more than 64% below the 52-week high.
XPeng Stock
XPeng Motors reported September deliveries of 8,468 EVs, down 18.7% vs. a year earlier and 11.6 vs. 9,578 in August. That included included 184 G9 SUVs. Mass deliveries of its new EV are set to start in late October.
Q3 deliveries of 29,570 rose 15.2% vs. a year earlier but fell 14.1% vs. Q2. XPeng had guided Q3 deliveries of 29,000-31,000 EVs. It sold 11,524 EVs in July and 9,578 in August.
In Q2, XPeng sold 34,422 EVs, outpacing both Nio and Li Auto.
Currently, the newer P7 and P5 electric sedans are driving sales, while the older G3i and G3 SUVs are struggling.
Shares fell 1.3% Friday. XPeng stock tanked 9.2% Thursday. XPeng stock continues more than 78% off below its 52-week high.
Li Auto Stock
Li Auto reported September deliveries of 11,531. For the quarter, Li delivered 26,254 hybrid SUVs. Just on Sept. 26, Li Auto cut its Q3 delivery guidance to 25,000 from 27,000-29,000 prior. Li sold 10,422 EVs in July and 4,571 in August, so that implied September deliveries of 10,507.
In Q2, Li Auto sold 28,687 EVs, lagging Xpeng but coming in ahead of Nio.
In its first full month, L9 SUV hybrid deliveries jumped to 10,123. Li will discontinue the Li One, its original hybrid-electric SUV, in October after demand fell off in August.
Li also is moving up launches for the L7 and L8 models as it loses Li One customers.
The company announced Sept. 28 that the 10,000th Li L9 rolled off the production line. Li Auto reportedly expects the L9 to be a top seller among full-size SUVs.
Shares shed 1.5% Friday. Li stock dived 6.1% Thursday. Li Auto stock sits 44% below the 52-week high.
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BYDDF Stock
In September, China EV and battery giant BYD will be looking to continue its win streak. It sold 162,530 so-called NEVs in July and 174,915 in August, its sixth straight month of record sales. For Q2, BYD sold 355,021 NEVs, more than tripling year over year.
New energy vehicles include all-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
As BYD ramps up new models like the Seal, which launched in late August, it should easily top 1.5 million deliveries in 2022, perhaps nearing 1.9 million. It’s targeting 4 million in 2023.
BYD also is expanding globally. At a European launch event on Wednesday, BYD showed off three new all-electric models for the Continent, with deliveries starting across the region in Q4. It so far sells the Tang SUV in pilot market Norway. In the past several weeks, BYD also began deliveries in Australia, New Zealand and India, adding several other Asian markets in the next few months.
In April, BYD shifted to producing only hybrid and electric vehicles, ditching cars that run only on gas or diesel. In addition, BYD plans to supply Tesla with EV batteries.
Shares of BYD, which trade over the counter, lost nearly 2% Friday. They sank 6.6% Thursday, near multi-month lows. BYDDF stock is 43% off highs.
China EV Sales
In China, sales of new energy vehicles doubled in August, continuing a hot run so far in 2022. Still, Nio and its peers have periodically struggled, including Li Auto in August due to the stale Li One model.
On Monday, China officially announced that the exemption on NEV purchase tax, a kind of subsidy, will be extended until the end of 2023. It was set to expire this year, though an extension was long rumored.
The same day, Li Auto lowered its EV delivery outlook for the third quarter, citing supply constraints though it’s also facing demand issues.
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