Top Three Chinese Electric Car Makers Report 18K Deliveries in January 2021, Increasing by up to 470% YoY

Chinese electric automakers Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto started off 2021 on a high note based on their January 2021 deliveries.

According to the research data analyzed and published by Comprar Acciones, Nio delivered 7,225 vehicles during the month, setting a new monthly record. The sales represented a year-over-year (YoY) growth of 352.1% as it quadrupled the 1,598 deliveries it made in January 2019, its introductory month.

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It was also its sixth consecutive month of record high in terms of deliveries, up from 7,007 deliveries in December 2020. Its January deliveries included 2,845 EC6s, 2,720 ES6s and 1,660 ES8s. The total figure brought the startup’s collective lifetime deliveries to 82,866.

Nio is still a long way from catching up with the market leader Tesla, whose deliveries for Q4 2020 totaled 180,570.

However, both Nio and Tesla are outperforming the S&P 500, which has risen by about 0.5% year-to-date (YTD). As of February 9, 2021, Nio stock is trading at $58.98, up by 21.19% YTD, and has $88.92 billion market capitalization according to Marketwatch.

Over the previous year, it has gained a spectacular 1,391.67%. Nio crossed the $10 mark in share price in July 2020 and has been on an uptrend since. With gains of more than 1,100% in 2020, it was among the top-performing Chinese companies listed in the US.

Tesla is trading at $858.60, marking a 20.45% increase YTD and a remarkable 459.93% over the previous year.

Nio Sales to Jump by 100% in 2021, Li Auto by 92%, Xpeng by 126%

For Xpeng, the year got off to a solid start as the company reported 6,015 deliveries in January. It was its third consecutive month of record deliveries and it marked a 470% jump YoY.

Since August 2020 when it got listed on the NYSE, Xpeng saw its shares soar by over 185% by the end of the year.  As of February 9, 2021, one share is trading at $47.65 and the company is valued at $37.07 billion. Its shares are up by 44.71% over the past three months and 11.16% YTD.

Meanwhile, Li Auto reported a total of 5,379 deliveries in January 2021, marking an increase of 355.8% YoY. However, its figure was slightly lower than December 2020’s 6,126. The figure brought its cumulative deliveries to 38,976 units.

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Since its IPO on the Nasdaq in July 2020, Li Auto shares had shot up by 150% by the end of 2020. On February 9, 2021, its stock was priced at $30.38 and has a market cap of $27.29 billion. It had a YTD gain of 5.31% and 20.29% over the past three months.

In total, the three startups reported 18,619 deliveries during the year. According to Morgan Stanley, Nio and Li Auto are expected to post profit for the first time in 2021. But Xpeng will see its losses widen further.

For Nio, Morgan Stanley estimates its sales to be worth 33.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion) by the end of the year. It would be a considerable jump from 2020, doubling the estimated 16.8 billion yuan sold during the period. It is forecast to post a modest profit of 6 million yuan, compared to the 2020 loss of 4.4 million yuan.

Li Auto is projected to generate a profit of 980 million yuan up from an estimated 541 million yuan loss in 2020. Revenue is forecast to soar by 92% to 17.96 billion yuan during the year.

Xpeng is projected to have a 126% uptick in revenue to 13.95 billion yuan. Its losses are, however, expected to grow from the estimated 2020 figure of 3.56 billion yuan to 4.23 billion yuan.

China’s EV Sales to Soar by Over 40% in 2021 to 1.8 Million Units

China’s EV market is among the hottest globally both from a supply and addressable market point of view.  According to S&P Global data, EV sales in the market were estimated to soar by 8% YoY in 2020, reaching 1.3 million units. It projected an increase of 40% in 2021 to 1.8 million units.

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Individual electric vehicle (EV) consumption shot up to almost 70% in 2020, up from 20% in 2018. In cities without a limit for vehicle increment, EV sales had a 60% share. Growth in the market is expected to remain stable in the coming years, reaching 6 million by 2025.

The Chinese government wants a quarter of all new cars sold in the country to be EVs by 2025, up from about 5% in January 2021. This is expected to keep demand robust.

Beyond the domestic market, China-based manufacturers account for more than 50% of worldwide EV deliveries.