It's not every day that an electric vehicle (EV) maker reports a record number of quarterly deliveries. On Tuesday, that happened with not one, not two, but three Chinese EV manufacturers.
Of the trio, investors seemed most impressed with Li Auto(NASDAQ: LI) achieving that feat. Those folks pushed the company's U.S.-listed stock up by 12% in value across the day. This performance contrasted sharply with the nearly 1% slump of the S&P 500 index.
Year-over-year increases of nearly 50%
Li Auto announced both its latest monthly and quarterly delivery figures. For September, this tally was 53,709, which represented a sturdy 49% year-over-year improvement. This helped boost the number for the company's third quarter to a total of 152,831, shaking down into growth of 45% over the same period of 2023.
The company attributed this indisputably impressive growth to enthusiastic takeup of EVs by Chinese consumers. It didn't mention that top-down government initiatives aimed at bolstering the EV sector also have a strong influence.
Li Auto quoted CEO Xiang Li as saying: "With the penetration rate of new energy vehicles surpassing 50%, the dominance of leading brands has become more pronounced. Since the beginning of the third quarter, the top three brands have captured over 50% of the 200,000 yuan ($28,507) and above new energy vehicle market." ("New energy vehicle" is the common Chinese term for EV.)
A rising tide...
The encouraging delivery figures released the same day by Li Auto's peers, including BYD and Nio, bolster the company's argument. Heavy Chinese consumer demand for EVs of every category is really pushing the domestic industry forward. This will surely be exacerbated by the government's latest package of economic stimulus measures announced last month.
Should you invest $1,000 in Li Auto right now?
Before you buy stock in Li Auto, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Li Auto wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $744,197!*
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. TheStock Advisorservice has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 30, 2024
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends BYD Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
