This year, stock markets tried to get off to a solid start, and there are a lot of winners in China. Investors are hopeful that 2023 will bring them better outcomes than they did in 2022 after the major stock market benchmarks ended the previous year down by large amounts. The very early signs are unclear. The electric vehicle business is one area on which many investors have concentrated their efforts, notably in the crucial market of China. China's own EV specialists have more than held their own while foreign automakers compete for market share in the country with the largest population, and many investors anticipate success for those businesses in 2023. Most major EV manufacturers in China saw their shares on the up when markets opened Tuesday 2023.
XPeng
The highest gains were seen in XPeng shares, which increased 9% early Tuesday. In December, the business delivered about 11,300 automobiles, pushing its total for the fourth quarter to little over 22,200 units. More than 120,750 automobiles were delivered in total in 2022, an increase of 23% over 2021. The increase in G9 SUV deliveries, which exceeded 4,000 units in December and increased by 160% from November's total, has particularly thrilled XPeng. The G9 won China's Xuanyuan award and was named one of the top 10 automobiles of the year in that country. The G9's software was successfully updated over-the-air by the EV manufacturer in late December, enabling a voice assistant system in a game-changing step for the sector.
Xpeng G9 Interior
Li Auto
On Tuesday, the Li Auto stock increased by 4%. More than 21,200 vehicles were delivered, according to Li, in December, setting a new monthly record for the business and surpassing December 2021's delivery total by 50%. Deliveries in the fourth quarter increased by 32% compared to the previous year, and Li completed 2022 with about 133,250 units shipped, exceeding its 2021 total by 47%.
Li's L8 and L9 models, both of which exceeded 10,000 in monthly delivery, were in high demand. Due to their success, Li has gained a strong foothold in the premium electric car industry in China, and the business has established an amazing network of retail locations, servicing facilities, and body and paint shops in a huge number of cities all over the nation.
Nio
Following the publication of its monthly delivery report, Nio's stock price increased by 2%. Over 15,800 automobiles were delivered by Nio in December, an increase of just over 50% from the same month last year. Deliveries for the fourth quarter increased by 60% year over year to surpass 40,000 units. And throughout the course of the year, Nio sold roughly 122,500 electric vehicles to consumers. To support its vehicles, Nio has gathered infrastructure resources and did a massive setup of charging stations.
BYD
The price of BYD shares increased by 5%. The top EV vendor in China reported EV production and sales of more than 235,200 units in December, increasing its projected total production for 2022 to nearly 1.88 million vehicles. With a combo of PHEV and BEV, that was quadruple its 2021 sales number.
Sales of BYD vehicles greatly outpaced those of Tesla in 2022. All-battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, still have Tesla in the lead, but BYD is catching up. Tesla claims high prices, but those prices are under threat as 2023 approaches. Although BYD's average selling prices are lower, the company is raising pricing by introducing a number of premium brands. Other notable businesses run by Tesla and BYD include solar and battery storage. But despite their size and similarity, Tesla and BYD haven't historically engaged in much direct competition. With additional BYD models competing for the same market niches as Tesla, this is beginning to change.
Watch this space
These results are particularly amazing because they were attained despite the difficulties brought on by China's newly loosened "zero COVID" policy for combating the pandemic, which damaged supply lines and disrupted manufacturing in the nation. The second-largest economy in the world could experience even greater growth if Chinese EV companies can perform as well even in these challenging circumstances.
