Shares of Nio Inc, a Chinese electric vehicle maker, surged by 20% on Thursday after it reported a significant increase in vehicle deliveries for April.
The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose by as much as 23%, reaching their highest level in over six weeks. This increase also positively impacted the broader Hang Seng index, which rose by 2% during midday trading.
Nio announced that it delivered 15,620 vehicles in April, marking a remarkable 134.6% increase compared to the same period last year. These deliveries included 8,817 premium smart electric SUVs and 6,803 premium smart electric sedans. So far this year, Nio has delivered 45,673 vehicles, which is 21.2% higher than last year’s figures for the same period.
The company has been actively expanding its battery swap partnerships as part of its strategy to enhance the infrastructure for electric vehicles. These efforts aim to address consumers’ concerns about driving range.
Other Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, such as Li Auto, Xpeng, and BYD, also reported their April deliveries. Li Auto delivered 25,787 vehicles in April, experiencing an 11% decrease from March.
However, its Hong Kong-listed shares still rose by 3%. Xpeng reported delivering 9,393 EVs in April, a 4% increase from the previous month. BYD’s sales volume for EVs in April reached 313,245, up 3.6% from March’s figures.
Shares of Xpeng surged by 7.5%, while those of BYD increased by 5%.
There’s a growing competition among Chinese EV makers, including Nio, Li Auto, Xpeng, and BYD, as they compete with U.S. automaker Tesla in the Chinese market.
This competition has led to a price war, with major EV manufacturers reducing prices to attract consumers. Tesla recently lowered the starting price of its Model 3 in China and other key markets. Similarly, Li Auto also decreased prices for several of its models.
The competition intensified further when Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker, entered the electric vehicle market by launching the SU7 in early April. Priced approximately $4,000 lower than Tesla’s Model 3, Xiaomi claimed that the SU7 offers a longer driving range.
Despite selling its EV at a lower price than Tesla’s Model 3, Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun stated that the new EV is selling better than expected, and the company aims to break even sooner than initially anticipated.
