China EV and battery giant BYD on Sunday revealed an even stronger gain in first-quarter sales than it had forecast just days earlier.
That came a day after the startups Li Auto, Nio and XPeng each reported Q1 EV sales at the low end of their guidance.
Li Auto again took the quarterly sales crown among the startups. China EV sales rebounded further in March, on a month-over-month basis, for BYD, Li Auto and XPeng. But Nio's March sales fell vs. the prior month. Nio stock skid Monday.
Warren Buffett-backed BYD outsells Tesla in China and is expanding in several overseas markets. Tesla reported record first-quarter deliveries on Sunday, but fell short of views.
BYD EV Sales
BYD sold 207,080 electric vehicles (EVs), including plug-in hybrids, in March. That was up 97.5% vs. a year earlier and up 7.5% vs. February's 191,664. March sales include 10,398 vehicles from BYD's upscale Denza brand. Aside from 991 commercial vehicles, BYD sold 102,670 passenger all-electric BEVs and passenger 103,419 PHEVs.
For the full first quarter, BYD sold 552,076 EVs, up 93% vs. a year earlier but down 19% from Q4's record 683,440. BYD said last week that it expects to grow Q1 sales more than 80% vs. a year earlier.
Last Tuesday, BYD posted skyrocketing earnings for the fourth quarter and full-year 2022. After Tesla set off a fierce EV price war, BYD reportedly has reduced both production and prices. But it hasn't cut prices as much as Tesla, XPeng and several other EV makers.
Last Friday, BYD reportedly shared images of a new model, called the Seagull, on the microblogging site Weibo. The Seagull is expected to be an extremely affordable electric hatchback for city dwellers, possibly using a new type of EV battery. It's expected to go on sale sometime in the current second quarter. It's also smaller than BYD's current smallest car, the Dolphin, and is expected to start below 100,000 yuan ($15,000), according to local media. Competition is growing in the sub-100,000 segment.
The Seagull could be one of the first electric vehicles to use sodium-ion batteries, which promise various advantages over traditional lithium-ion batteries, including lower costs.
Meanwhile, BYD's Denza has been teasing multiple vehicles. Expect a number of vehicle unveilings by BYD and other EV makers at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month.
BYD stock, which trades over the counter, rose 0.2% to 29.46 in Monday's stock market action, hitting resistance at the 200-day moving average. It leapt 9.8% last week, reclaiming the 21-day and 50-day.
Shares of BYD are working on a 34.04 consolidation buy point, but a decisive move above the 200-day line could offer an early entry.
As of Monday, BYD stock was up 20.1% in 2023. It slumped 27.7% in 2022.
Li Auto
Li Auto sold 20,823 hybrid-electric EVs in March, up 89% vs. a year earlier. It was also up 25% from 16,620 in February. Q1 sales totaled 52,584, at the lower end of Li's forecast for 52,000-55,000.
The startup said Saturday it has started delivering the new L7, a five-seat electric SUV. It will begin to deliver two more new EVs, the L7 Air and L8 Air, in April, the March sales release added.
LI stock fell 2.5% to 24.32 Monday, after shedding 1.5% last week. Li Auto shares are just below a 25.46 double-bottom buy point, which is just above the 200-day line.
Nio
Nio sold 10,378 EVs in March, up 3.9% vs. a year earlier. But unlike most China EV makers, Nio's sales fell vs. the prior month, down nearly 15% vs. February's 12,157. March deliveries included 3,203 SUVs and 7,175 sedans.
For all of Q1, Nio sold 31,041 EVs, just above the low end of its forecast for 31,000-33,000 vehicles. Q1 deliveries increased 20.5% year over year.
Analysts are looking for Nio's EV sales to improve significantly in Q2, as new models roll out and production ramps up.
Nio stock tumbled 6.8% to 9.80 Monday, back below the 50-day line. Shares vaulted nearly 16% last week, regaining the 50-day average but still below the 200-day line.
XPeng
XPeng sold 7,002 EVs in March, plunging nearly 55% vs. a year but increasing 16.5% from February's 6,010.
Q1 deliveries reached 18,230 EVs, at the lower end of its guidance for 18,000-19,000.
XPeng hailed "strong momentum" for the P7i sedan, a refreshed version of its P7 that was just launched in March. P7 series sales rose 32% in March vs. February to 3,030. But the startup didn't give a breakdown between the P7 and refreshed version, the P7i.
Recent commentary from XPeng management suggests a strong second-half 2023 sales rebound.
XPEV stock gained slid 1% to 11. XPeng shares leapt 15.5% last week as they rallied from near the 50-day line.
China EV Sales
The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) expects China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales to continue to recover in March from February.
Retail sales of NEVs, which include hybrid-electric vehicles, are expected to reach 560,000 units, up 25.8% from a year ago and up 27.5% from February, the CPCA said.
The Chinese car market performed poorly in January and February, but February showed improvement vs. January. And demand began to rebound in March, the CPCA said.
China EV sales more than doubled in 2021 and 2022. But they are expected to sharply slow to around 31% growth this year.
The slowdown comes amid macro headwinds and the end of EV subsidies at the start of 2023.
