Chinese NEV stocks sink tracking Tesla losses after Q1 deliveries fall

Investing.com-- Major Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) making stocks fell on Wednesday, tracking steep overnight losses in Tesla after the world’s most valuable electric vehicle (EV) maker clocked a quarterly decline in deliveries. 

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) slid nearly 5% on Tuesday after its first-quarter deliveries missed analyst estimates, while also falling for the first time in nearly four years. Tesla delivered 386,810 vehicles against estimates of 449,080 vehicles.

The miss ramped up concerns over slowing demand in the EV maker’s biggest markets, particularly in China. This trend could draw even more aggressive price cuts from the firm, which bodes poorly for its competitors in China.

Tracking this notion, Chinese NEV makers BYD (SZ:002594) Co Ltd (HK:1211), Li Auto Inc (HK:2015), Xpeng Inc (HK:9868), NIO Inc (HK:9866), and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co (HK:9863) sank between 2.4% and 5.5% on Wednesday. Nio (NYSE:NIO), which is considered China’s closest analog to Tesla, was the biggest decliner among its peers.

Losses in the firms spurred an over 1% drop in the Hang Seng index.

Tesla had triggered a bitter price war in China over the past year, as it struggled to maintain market share in the world’s biggest NEV market. This battered profit margins across the sector, but also helped keep demand upbeat.

But Tesla was recently overtaken by BYD as the world’s best-selling EV maker,  especially as the latter saw stronger sales in its home market. 

Xiaomi) also hit by NEV losses

Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) Corp (HK:1810), which recently marked a foray into the NEV market sank 3.7% in Hong Kong trade as investors collected profits from a strong recent surge in the company’s shares.

Xiaomi had launched its first NEV vehicle in March, with preorders beginning from early April. Waiting times for the firm stretched up to seven months, signaling healthy demand for the SU7 electric sedan. 

But this foray now makes Xiaomi’s stock sensitive to any more developments in the EV market, especially as the firm signaled it plans to become among the world’s largest EV makers.