Nio Vs. XPeng Vs. Li Auto: How 2022 Is Shaping Up For Chinese EV Stocks

The U.S.-listed Chinese electric vehicle trio of Nio, Inc. NIO, XPeng, Inc. XPEV and Li Auto, Inc. LI had a mixed outing in 2021 amid global component shortage headwinds.

EV Analyst: BofA Securities analyst Ming Hsun Lee has Buy ratings on the shares of Nio, XPeng and Li Auto.

The analyst increased the price targets for Nio shares from $65 to $66, for Xpeng from $66 to $69 and for Li Auto from $46 to $49.

Nio's 3 New Model Launches To Drive Growth? Nio's volume sales are expected to take off thanks to the kickstarting of ET7 deliveries in the first quarter of 2022 and ET5 in the late third quarter, analyst Hsun Lee said in a note.

Provided component constraints do not weigh Nio down, the company expects ET5 deliveries to hit 10,000, the analyst said. The company will likely upgrade some hardware in mid-2022 to further improve user experience/product competitiveness, he said. 

The analyst maintained his margin assumptions and lowered his net loss estimate for 2021 and 2022 by 1% and 3%, respectively.

Related Link: EV Week In Review: Tesla, Nikola Call Truce; Week To Forget For Rivian; Sony Jumps Into EV Arena And More

XPeng To Outperform EV Peers: XPeng will likely have the highest sales growth among the trio in 2022, Hsun Lee said. Sales in January and February will likely be slower due to production line upgrades in February and lean inventory levels, he added.

Sales volume is still likely to grow the analyst said.

Factoring in an increase in operating expenditures, the analyst widened his net loss estimate for 2022 by 20%.

Li Auto To Expand One-Vehicle Portfolio: Li Auto will launch its second EREV model X01, a full-sized SUV, under its X platform in 2022, Hsun Lee said.

Management expects mass production of X01 to start in the third quarter of 2022, along with Orin chip mass-production from Nvidia Corporation NVDA, the analyst said.

In 2023, Li Auto plans to launch five new models, including BEV and EREV, he said. 

The analyst expects the net loss for 2021 and 2022 to widen by 4% and 10%, respectively.

The EV Price Action: At last check, Nio shares were slipping 1.91% to $28.74, XPeng was slumping 6.99% to $41.90 and Li Auto was retreating 5.14% to $27.68.

Related Link: Nio Analyst Reiterates Bullish Stance And Hikes Revenue Estimates Following 'Nio Day 2021'

Photo courtesy of Nio.