China's leading premium electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), Nio (NYSE:NIO), and Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) each rose higher in premarket trading Monday after reporting a significant uptick in their March deliveries.
BYD (BYDDF (OTC:BYDDF)), the largest EV producer globally, also reported a sharp increase in its sales of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles last month.
Li Auto, based in Beijing, announced on Monday that it delivered 28,984 vehicles to customers across mainland China in March, marking a 43.1% increase from February. Despite this growth, the company's first-quarter deliveries totaled 80,400 units, missing its initial goal of between 100,000 and 103,000 vehicles.
The Shanghai-based Nio reported delivering 11,866 vehicles in March, a 45.9% jump from the month before. However, its first-quarter sales of 30,053 vehicles fell short of the anticipated 31,000 to 33,000 range.
Meanwhile, Xpeng saw its March deliveries nearly double from the previous month, reaching 9,026 units. Its first-quarter sales of 21,821 vehicles aligned with forecasts but were the lowest among the trio.
BYD, targeting the 100,000 to 200,000 yuan price range, achieved an impressive 302,459 unit sales in March, representing a 147.3% increase from February. This record is only second to its historical peak in December.
Shares of LI and NIO rose 4% and 2% respectively, while XPEV added 1.7% and BYD jumped 4.5% in Shenzen trading.
Despite these positive monthly sales, the broader challenges facing the world's largest auto and EV market, including fierce competition, remain a concern.
“A recovery in March allowed the EV makers to breathe a sigh of relief, following woeful sales in February,” said analysts at a Shanghai-based advisory firm.
“But difficulties are looming, as new rivals such as Xiaomi are luring consumers away from established brands.”