Electric-vehicle stocks finished the week ended Sept. 27 mostly higher, with industry leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA and Chinese startups leading the charge. Investors piled into Tesla ahead of some stock-specific catalysts scheduled for October. Chinese EV makers rode on the positive sentiment generated by China announcing stimulus measures to reinvigorate domestic growth.
Here’s a rundown on what happened in the EV space during the week:
Tesla China Strength Continues: Weekly insured registrations data out of China showed a fairly strong 13,800 Tesla EVs were registered in the week of Sept. 16-22, down 11.54% from 15,600 in the previous reporting week, CnEVPost reported, citing data from Li Auto, Inc. LI. Commenting on the number, Future Fund's Gary Black said the performance has come despite a two-day Mid-Autumn Festival national holiday. Through 12 weeks, third-quarter deliveries were up 18.5% year-over-year and 19.9% higher than the previous quarter, he said. “Still on track for TSLA China’s best quarter ever,” he added.
It appears to be Tesla China is benefiting from incentivizing sales. The company has extended its five-year, zero-interest financing program for made-in-China Model 3 and Model Y variants until the end of October. This could set off worries concerning further margin erosion. More details regarding the margin impact of the zero-interest financing would be known when the company reports its third-quarter results in late-October.
Analysts are modeling a third-quarter deliveries beat, primarily due to the China strength even as the European region has remained a sore spot. Barclays analyst Dan Levy said in a note he expects third-quarter deliveries of 470,000 units, above the consensus estimate of 461,000 units. Wedbush’s Daniel Ives expects sales to trump the consensus forecast and also the whisper number of 465,000-470,000 units. “We believe 3Q will provide a solid rebound looking to 2H for the company as China continues to heat up and price/demand stabilization has continuously been seen throughout the quarter,” he said.
Rivian Snags A Downgrade: Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas downgraded Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN shares from Overweight to Equal-Weight and also cut the price target from $16 to $13. The analyst said his downgrade was due to the incorporation of the capital intensity of autonomous vehicle/autonomous driver assistance system which may be required to fulfill the technological underpinnings that attracted Volkswagen AG VWAGY as a JV partner. Rivian struck a partnership with the German automaker, which provided it with a $5 billion investment.
Jonas raised his annual capex estimate for Rivian by $200 million to $300 million per year, beginning in 2026. He also pointed out the uncertainty regarding the cost structure of the joint venture.
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Canoo Launches In UK: Struggling EV startup Canoo, Inc. GOEV announced this week it is officially launching in the U.K. by establishing Canoo Technologies UK Limited. The company said it has selected Bicester Motion, a former WWII Royal Air Force base, as a key location that reflects the company's spirit of innovation and commitment to sustainability. “This move signifies a pivotal step in Canoo's global expansion, setting the stage for the company to introduce groundbreaking commercial electric vehicle (EV) solutions to the UK,” the company said in a statement.
On the flipside, TechCrunch reported that Canoo’s senior director of advanced vehicle engineering Christoph Kuttner, the last of the co-founders from the team of nine that founded the company in late-2017, has quit. The report also said the company has been hit with two new lawsuits from suppliers linked to the drivetrains that power its electric vehicles.
Nio Begins ONVO L60 Deliveries: Chinese EV startup Nio, Inc. NIO on Saturday started deliveries of its first-ever low-end EV rolled out under the ONVO brand name, CnEVPost reported. The Shanghai-based EV maker is currently pushing out the L60 with a 60-kWh battery pack, and deliveries of long-range vehicles with an 85-kWh pack are expected to begin in December. Sales of the EV began Sept. 19 at a starting price of 206,900 yuan ($29,510), and if the battery is leased, the model would be cheaper. The launch of the vehicle is important as it is pitched against Tesla’s best-selling Model Y vehicle.
GM Teams Up To Launch Fastest Charging EV Battery: Legacy automaker General Motors Corp. GM and its Chinese joint venture partner SAIC have joined hands with battery giant CATL to roll out the fastest-charging EV battery, CnEVPost reported. The battery is based on lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry that would supports 6C ultra-fast charging.
The KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF KARS rose 3.39 on Friday before ending at $22.51, according to Benzinga Pro data. For the week, the ETF raced 16.51% higher.
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Here’s how the EV stocks fared this week:
| Weekly Change (+/-) | |
| Tesla | +9.32% |
| Nio | +23.49% |
| XPeng, Inc. XPEV | +32.50% |
| Li Auto, Inc. LI | +19.68% |
| Workhorse, Inc. WKHS | +24.08% |
| Hyzon Motors, Inc. HYZN | +14.47% |
| Canoo | +5.94% |
| Rivian | -0.94% |
| Lucid Group, Inc. LCID | +2.87% |
| Faraday Future | -17.51% |
| Nikola Corp. NKLA | -14.71% |
| VinFast Auto Ltd. VFS | +7.10% |
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