XPeng delivered 5,102 cars in March, up from about 2,200 in February.
Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images
Chinese companies XPeng and NIO delivered thousands more electric vehicles in March than they did in February, solid gains that sent both stocks climbing Thursday.
Shares of XPeng (ticker: XPEV) were up about 7% in early trading. NIO (NIO) stock had gained about 6%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, by comparison, were both up less than 1% early Thursday.
XPeng delivered 5,102 cars in March, up from about 2,200 in February but still off January deliveries of more than 6,000. Management attributed the February dip primarily to the Lunar New Year holiday. Still, shares dropped by 11% on the disappointing number. The stock recovered, however, closing up about 7%.
NIO, too, saw a drop in deliveries from January to February, then a strong March, but its shares didn’t fare quite as well.
NIO delivered more than 7,200 vehicles in January, about 5,600 in February and bounced back to 7,200 in March. Though February’s decline wasn’t as steep as XPeng’s, NIO stock dropped about 13% the day of the report. Shares finished March down roughly 15%.
NIO is the larger of the two firms and was the more highly valued coming into March. Size and valuation might be why investors have been harder on the company’s shares.
In February, NIO traded for about 14 times estimated 2021 sales. XPeng traded for about 12 times. Now, XPeng is the more highly valued firm, trading for about 13 times estimated 2021 earnings. NIO is down to less than 12 times.
For the first quarter, NIO delivered just over 20,000 vehicles, compared with about 17,300 vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter. NIO managed to grow deliveries quarter over quarter, despite both the holiday and the global semiconductor shortage roiling the auto market.
NIO warned the chip shortage would hit results. Ford Motor (F) and General Motors (GM) have called the problem a billion-dollar headwind to profits for 2021. Both of the tradition auto makers, along with others, have taken unplanned downtime at plants because of the unusual parts shortage.
XPeng, for its part, delivered about 13,300 vehicles in the first quarter, compared with just under 13,000 in the forth quarter. XPeng, like NIO, eked out a quarterly gain, but its increase was smaller.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
