Chinese EV Makers BYD, Nio, Li Auto See Jump in Sales as Investors Await Tesla's Numbers

Chinese electric-vehicle makers XPeng (XPEV), Nio (NIO), Li Auto (LI), and BYD (BYDDY) on Monday each reported year-over-year increases in March deliveries, kicking off a busy week for EV sales data, with Tesla set to report its own figures Tuesday.

BYD, which surpassed Tesla as the largest global seller of EVs in the fourth quarter, reported March sales of 302,459, a 46% increase over the year-earlier month, while sales for the quarter were up 13.4% at 626,263.

Li Auto reported 28,984 deliveries for March and 80,400 in the first quarter, increases of 39% and 53%, respectively. Nio delivered 11,866 vehicles in March, up 14% from last year, and 30,053 in the first quarter, in line with estimates the company revised last week. XPeng, after reporting a smaller-than-expected Q4 loss last month, said that it delivered 9,026 vehicles in March and 21,821 in the first three months of 2024, year-over-year increases of 29% and 20%, respectively.

The Chinese automakers have cut into Tesla's market share across China, which has led Tesla to shift prices and offer other sales incentives in attempts to boost demand while maintaining profit margins. Tesla will be reporting its March sales numbers less than a month after reports that it had slowed production at its Shanghai factory amid slowing demand in China.

Tesla was the weakest performing stock on the S&P 500 in the first quarter of the year. Wells Fargo analysts recently called Tesla "a growth company with no growth," while other analysts have said the recent sell-off of Tesla stock has gone too far.

Tesla shares were 2.6% lower at $171.23 as of about noon ET Monday. American Depositary Receipts (ADR) of BYD and Nio were up 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively, while those of Li and XPeng were down slightly.