NIO, XPeng, Li Auto Shares Shake Off Weak Sales Data. The Outlook Seems Bright.

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Chinese new-car sales fell in January. But the shares of Chinese electric-vehicle makers 

NIO
,

Xpeng
,
and

Li Auto

have recovered from earlier, steeper losses after industry insiders said they expect a robust year for EV sales.

Sales data from the Chinese Passenger Car Association, or CPCA, show new-car sales of about 2.1 million units in January, down about 4% year over year, and down about 1% from December 2021, according to Citigroup analyst Jeff Chung.

A drop isn’t great news for any auto maker, but Chung hosted a conference call with CPCA secretary general Cui Dongshu who said EV sales in January performed a little better than he expected.

What’s more, Dongshu expects EV-sales growth to accelerate in the first four months of 2022 from the year-ago period. Details about growth rates weren’t included in Chung’s report. But Chinese EV sales grew about 170% in 2021 compared with 2020, hitting about 3 million units or almost 15% of all new cars sold.

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Those numbers include plug-in hybrid models as well as all battery electric models.

Faster growth is a positive as purchase incentives for EVs were cut, a little, by the Chinese authorities at the end of 2021.

NIO (ticker: NIO) American depositary receipts traded as low as $23.34. Shares are now at $24.05, down about 0.2%. XPeng (XPEV) ADRs opened lower, but are now up about 0.5%. Li Auto (LI) ADRs also opened lower, but are now up 1.8%.

The

S&P 500
and

Dow Jones Industrial Average
are down 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively.

Investors in the Chinese EV makers could use some good news. Rising interest rates, inflation and geopolitical concerns related to Russia and the Ukraine have hurt stocks in highly valued growth companies more than others.

NIO ADRs are off about 25% year to date, while those of XPeng and Li are down about 26% and 11%, respectively.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]