The Chinese auto market is still struggling, which is making things tough for EV makers in general, including Tesla.
BYD, the leading Chinese EV maker, shared its August results on Tuesday. The company sold 433,384 electrified vehicles, including 256,230 fully electric cars and a number of plug-in hybrids. Total passenger vehicle sales were up 21% from last year, but most of that growth came from exports, which jumped to 189,466 vehicles, a 125% increase. In contrast, domestic sales dropped 24% to about 244,000 vehicles.
So far this year, BYD’s domestic sales are still much lower than last year. With tough competition at home, slower demand, and fewer government incentives, more Chinese EV makers are looking to sell overseas.
After the results, BYD shares rose slightly in overseas trading, but the stock is still down over the past year.
NIO delivered 35,836 vehicles in August, which is 14% more than last year. This continues their rebound, helped by new models, and their year-to-date sales are much higher than a year ago. Still, NIO shares dropped in overseas trading on Tuesday and are down a lot over the past year.
XPeng delivered 39,107 vehicles in August, a 4% increase from last year. However, their sales for the year so far are still behind last year’s numbers. The stock slipped a bit in overseas trading and is down a lot over the past 12 months.
Li Auto delivered 37,679 vehicles in August, which is 32% more than last year. But their total sales for the year are about the same as last year. The stock fell a bit in overseas trading and is down a lot over the past year.
Altogether, the four companies delivered about 546,000 vehicles in August, which is 8% more than last year. But if you include BYD’s lower domestic sales with the others, their total domestic sales dropped a lot compared to last year.
These numbers show that China’s auto market is still having problems, even though it is the biggest market for new cars and EVs, and is very important for Tesla. Lately, investors have been focusing less on Tesla’s car sales in China and more on its AI projects, like the robotaxi service and robotics program. As of Tuesday, Tesla shares were up a little over the past year.
