Nio Inc (NIO)

[WebSlinger]

***NEWS***XPENG & LI AUTO OUTSOLD NIO IN JULY***

Li Auto (LI) and Xpeng Motors (XPEV) outsold Nio (NIO) in July for the first time amid supply-chain disruptions and competitive price cuts. Xpeng stock jumped as the Chinese EV startup announced strong presales for a key new electric vehicle.

Year over year, Nio sales leaped 125% to 7,931 electric vehicles in July. But month over month, Nio's EV sales fell 2%, on the back of declines for its ES6 and EC6 SUVs.

Xpeng's July sales jumped 228% year over year to 8,040, also rising 22% from June.

But last month's sales leader was Li Auto, whose sole EV, the Li One, is a hybrid SUV. Li's July sales vaulted 251% year over year to 8,589, growing 11% from June.

On Monday, Xpeng said it's forthcoming P5 electric sedan is generating "enthusiastic" consumer response in the presale phase. That comes after Xpeng priced the P5 aggressively, to compete with Tesla, which dominates the EV market in China. Model. Deliveries of the P5 — Xpeng's third EV, capable of lidar-enabled, highly autonomous driving, and a challenger to the Model 3 sedan — will start in Q4, the company said Monday.

Citigroup analyst Jeff Chung tied the sequential decline in Nio's July sales to Tesla (TSLA). The "trend for ES6 and EC6 is likely due to the recent price cut of Tesla's Model Y," Chung wrote in a Monday report. Against competition from Chinese EV startups, Tesla launched a cheaper version of its Model Y SUV with a shorter driving range in China last month.

Tesla cut its made-in-China Model 3 price last week.

Meanwhile, local Chinese media cited floods in Germany that affected the supply of air suspension shock absorbers and, in turn, Nio's production. Nio reports for Q2 on Aug. 11.

July sales for China's BYD (BYDDF), one of the world's largest electric vehicle makers, are awaited. In June, Warren Buffett-backed BYD's EV sales soared 207% year over year to 40,116 units, also increasing 27% from May.

Nio Stock, China EV Stocks

Shares of Nio rose 2.6% to close at 45.85 on the stock market today, above the 50-day line. Xpeng stock and BYD popped 7.1% each Monday. Li Auto and Tesla trimmed gains to 0.9% and 3.3%, respectively. Excluding BYD, China EV stocks remain in a bear market with no buy point in sight, according to MarketSmith chart analysis.

Nio and Xpeng are looking to bring their most advanced and technically ambitious EVs yet to market, hoping to shake Tesla's dominance in China. Li Auto also plans to expand its vehicle lineup with new pure electric and hybrid EVs.

Nio's ET7, its fourth EV and first sedan, will arrive in Q1 2021. The ET7, like Xpeng's P5, will be capable of highly autonomous driving.

https://www.investors.com/news/nio-stock-li-auto-xpeng-july-2021-ev-sales/?src=A00220