The broader market volatility ahead of and after Nvidia Corp.‘s (NVDA) earnings report weighed down electric-vehicle stocks in the week ended Aug. 30 but company-specific news lent support to some. Market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA snapped a two-week winning run and posted a weekly decline, with fundamental weakness partly responsible for the predicament.
Here’s a rundown on what happened in the EV space during the week:
Tesla Extends ‘Zero-Interest’ Financing In China: After initially announcing that its “zero-interest” financing scheme would end by August, Tesla extended it in China until the end of September. This set off alarm regarding further margin erosion, with GLJ Research’s Gordon Johnson stating that this will be a “horror show” for Tesla's third-quarter margins. He noted that this offer was made available in China for only a month in the second quarter, while in the third quarter, it is set to be applicable for all three months. Johnson also saw the action portending continuing demand problem in one of Tesla’s key markets.
In another development, Tesla is looking to launch a seven-seat version of its Model Y all-electric SUV in Europe and China in October, CnEVPost reported, citing local media reports. The production of it is already underway at the Giga Shanghai plant. Tesla now offers the option in the U.S. with its all-wheel-drive, dual-motor Model Y Long Range, with consumers having to pay an additional $2,000 for it.
The Elon Musk-led company is reportedly planning to host its Oct. 10 robotaxi unveil event at Warner Brothers’ movie studio in Burbank, California.
Multiple Rivian EVs Damaged In Fire Incident: A fire that started at the parking lot of Rivian Automotive, Inc.‘s RIVN Normal, Illinois, plant damaged several EVs, The Verge reported, citing local media outlets. A Normal Fire Department spokesperson told the publication that Rivian is leading the investigation into the blaze, along with its insurance company, with the town’s fire officials also lending support.
A Rivian spokesperson reportedly confirmed that the plant was unaffected and there were no injuries but said no further disclosures would be made at that point in time.
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Lucid’s Affordable EV Drive: Luxury EV maker Lucid Group, Inc. LCID is currently working on a Tesla Model 3 rival, CarBuzz said in an exclusive report. Derek Jenkins, Senior Vice President of Design and Brand of Lucid, said there will be three affordable models, which he qualified as “younger” and “athletic” models. “We’re working on our mid-size program right now, and of course, these are going to be compact, lighter vehicles with every bit of focus on aero, efficiency, and space,” Jenkins reportedly said.
The affordable lineup would include a sedan to take on Tesla’s Model 3, a crossover to rival the Model Y SUV, and a mystery model, according to the report.
XPeng Surges Nearly 15%: Shares of Chinese EV startup XPeng, Inc. XPEV gained about 15% as it kicked off deliveries of its new low-end electric-vehicle model, Mona M03, at the Chengdu Auto Show, which is being held on Aug. 30 to Sept. 8. The company unveiled the all-electric hatchback coupe, at its 10th Anniversary Gala Night held on Tuesday.
XPeng Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng delivered the Mona M03 to its first owners on the show floor, reported CnEVPost adding that volume deliveries of the model would begin imminently. The company reportedly said it received 30,000 firm orders in the first 48 hours of availability. The Mona M03 is competitively priced and costs only about half as much as that of the Tesla Model 3 sedan.
The stock also received a shot in the arm from Xiaopeng buying shares in the company.
BYD’s Ambitious International Plan: Warren Buffett-backed Chinese EV startup BYD Co. Ltd. BYDDY BYDDF is reportedly looking to generate nearly half of its sales from the overseas market in the future. In an interview with Bloomberg, Executive Vice President Stella Li said, “Our overseas market will account for a relatively large proportion of our global sales in the future.” She clarified that nearly half of sales would be made overseas. The company reported this week second-quarter earnings and revenue that climbed 33% and 26%, respectively.
The KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF KARS ended Friday’s session up merely 0.05% at $19.08, according to Benzinga Pro data. For the week, the ETF was up 0.79% .
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
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Here’s how the EV stocks fared this week:
| Weekly Change (+/-) | |
| Tesla | -2.82% |
| Nio, Inc. NIO | -0.98% |
| XPeng | +14.84% |
| Li Auto, Inc. LI | -8.29% |
| Workhorse, Inc. WKHS | -13.28% |
| Hyzon Motors, Inc. HYZN | -3.08% |
| Canoo, Inc. GOEV | +3.40% |
| Rivian | +1.22% |
| Lucid | -4.29% |
| Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. FFIE | -30.43% |
| Nikola Corp. NKLA | -11.72% |
| VinFast Auto Ltd. VFS | -1.64% |
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