Cathie Wood Is Backing This Chinese EV Maker — Here Is How It Fared Against Rivals In February Deliveries

Xpeng Inc XPEV on Tuesday reported higher monthly delivery numbers than those of the close local rival Nio Inc NIO but lagged behind those of Li Auto Inc LI.

What Happened: The Guangzhou, China-based Xpeng said it delivered 6,225 electric vehicles last month, a decline of 51.8% over January and a jump of 180% over Feb. 2021.

The EV maker's monthly delivery split was 3,537 P7 smart sports sedans, 2,059 P5 smart family sedans and 629 G3 and G3i smart SUVs.

Xpeng said it resumed production at the Zhaoqing plant in mid-February following a planned technology upgrade during the Chinese New Year holiday from late January to early February.

“The upgrade enables the Company to accelerate delivery of its significant order backlog in hand,” the company said.

Xpeng said it has sold 13,953 P5 smart family sedans since it was launched in Sept. 2021. 

The company said it is carrying out a technology upgrade at its Zhaoqing plant amid a downtime over the Chinese New Year Holiday. The upgrade, it said, will help ramp up delivery of the significant order backlog carried over from 2021 and meet the growing demand as well.

See Also: Nio Deliveries Fall 36.4% Sequentially In February As Production Impacted By Holidays

China New Year Holiday lasted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 6 this year.

Xpeng on Monday said Yingjie Chen, a senior investment director with Alibaba Group Holdings BABA, has joined the company’s board. 

The company’s stock was added to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programs, helping boost investor reach.

How Deliveries Stack Up: Rival Nio Inc NIO delivered 6,131 electric vehicles in February, while Li Auto said deliveries came at 8,414 units. 

Nio attributed the decline to production suspension while Li Auto said supply shortages hit production.

See Also: Tesla, Nio Rival Li Auto Aims To Double Production In 2022

Why It Matters: Investors are closely watching the delivery numbers for China’s homegrown electric vehicle startups as they continue to ramp up deliveries and expand in local as well as overseas markets. 

Xpeng already ships electric vehicles to Norway and is eyeing further expansion in Europe.

See Also: Li Auto Outdoes Rival Nio In February Deliveries But Registers Similar Sequential Decline

Besides local rivals, Xpeng also sold more electric vehicles last month than German automaker Volkswagen Group’s VWAGY ID series of electric vehicles but lower than Tesla Inc TSLA. 

The company has found a backer in Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest, which has been building up a stake in the Chinese EV maker this year, its only pure-play EV bet beside Tesla.

Price Action: Xpeng shares closed 3.85% higher at $36.4 a share on Tuesday. The stock is down 27.6% so far this year.

Photo: Courtesy of Xpeng