Nio Inc (NIO)

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Why Nio and Chinese Tech Stocks Jumped Today
By: Motley Fool | April 27, 2022

• Today's move comes after sharp declines over the last several weeks.

What happened

U.S.- listed Chinese stocks have been taking a beating in recent months. The reasons behind the downtrend include political and regulatory fears, supply chain and raw material cost headwinds, and lockdowns in several cities to try to slow a new COVID-19 outbreak.

That sentiment reversed today, however. Chinese stocks including EV makers Nio (NIO 3.45%) and XPeng (XPEV 5.20%), as well as trucking technology platform Full Truck Alliance (YMM 3.11%), were all higher as of 11:34 a.m. ET:

• Nio was up 2.4%.
• XPeng was up 5.5%.
• Full Truck Alliance was up 4.4%.

So what

The jumps in these international stocks are in line with the broader Chinese market today. The Shanghai Composite index soared 2.5% today. And the moves come with Nio shares down 25% over the last three months. In that same period, XPeng and Full Truck Alliance shares have dropped 35%. Today's jump is more a response to macro issues than company-specific news.

Now what

But Nio did announce a milestone for its business yesterday. The company marked the production of its 200,000th electric vehicle since it began operations in 2018. It's notable that almost half that total was produced just last year. Vehicle production has accelerated for both Nio and XPeng as demand remains strong in China. XPeng also delivered nearly 100,000 vehicles in 2021, an increase of 263% over 2020 levels. Nio's deliveries rose 109% year over year in 2021.

While not an EV manufacturer, Full Truck Alliance is a supplier to the Chinese transportation and freight industry. In its recent fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 conference call, founder and CEO Hui Zhang called the company a "low carbon logistics service provider," signaling its focus on the EV sector.

In the short term, shares of these names can move based on macro events. Those swings can go in both directions, as today's market action is showing. Ultimately, though, these companies will only prove themselves as worthy investments if the underlying businesses succeed, and there looks to be a long runway ahead for China's EV industry.

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