Li Auto June Deliveries Soar. Why the Stock Won't. -- Barrons.com
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 8:58 AM ET 7/2/2021
Symbol Last Price Change
LI 32.7817down -1.9083 (-5.501%)
QUOTES AS OF 03:49:42 PM ET 07/02/2021
Al Root
Chinese EV maker Li Auto(LI) reported blockbuster June deliveries Thursday night, after peers NIO and XPeng had reported record numbers for the month. The third EV maker might have saved the best for last.
Li Auto (LI) delivered 7,713 vehicles in June, a monthly record for the company. That's more than XPeng's (XPEV) 6,565 figure. NIO (NIO) might have delivered more, topping 8,000 units in a month for the first time, but growth from May going into June amounted to 20%. Li's sequential growth, meanwhile, topped 78%.
In addition, Li delivered 17,575 vehicles in the second quarter, up almost 40% compared with the first quarter of 2021. That's the fastest quarterly growth of the three Chinese EV peers. Still, record deliveries for all three makes June a very good month.
On Thursday, both NIO and XPeng stocks opened higher on strong delivery numbers, but close the day down. Li stock, for now, is up 0.8% in Friday premarket trading. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, for comparison, are flat.
Shares of the U.S.-listed Chinese EV makers aren't jumping in response to deliveries because stocks have already climbed significantly lately, partly because Chinese EV sales remain strong. NIO stock has gained 24% over the past month, XPeng share are up 25%, and Li stock has surged almost 43%.
Strong Chinese demand is, of course, good for all three, as well as EV pioneer Tesla (TSLA). China is the world's largest market for new cars and for electric vehicles.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
