By Jiahui Huang

Electric vehicle makers' shares rose sharply in Hong Kong and mainland China, thanks to strong sales as China's auto demand continued to improve.

The gains came after Chinese automakers reported robust October sales after the market closed Friday, thanks to government subsidies amid a traditionally strong season for sales, analysts say.

Given that the government's trade-in policies will likely to expire at the end of this year, the auto demand is expected to continue improving in the final two months of 2024, Nomura analyst Joel Ying said. He added that investors are looking to see if the trade-in policy will be extended to next year or least the first quarter next year.

BYD's shares rose 5.4% to 292.40 Hong Kong dollars, or $37.60 on Monday morning, making it the top gainer on the Hang Seng Index. Its Shenzhen-listed shares were up 5.9% at 307.56 yuan, equivalent to $43.18. Li Auto and Geely Automobile rose 4.1% and 3.9%, respectively. XPeng and Great Wall Motor were up 5.5% and 4.4%, respectively. Seres Group gained 10% in Shanghai, hitting its limit for a one-day increase.

BYD sold 502,657 units of electric-vehicle and hybrid cars, setting a new monthly record and exceeded 500,000 units for the first time. The company on track to reach its 2024 sales target of 4 million units, Nomura analysts wrote in a note.

Geely Automobile sold 226,686 vehicles in October, also its highest-ever monthly sales.

BYD and Geely Automobile were the biggest beneficiaries of the government's trade-in policy given their relatively cheap price tags, CCB International analyst Qu Ke said.

Li Auto sold 51,443 vehicles in October, rising 27.3% from a year earlier, while XPeng sold 23,917 cars in October, a new monthly record. NIO sold 20,976 vehicles, up 30.5% compared with a year earlier.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2024 22:41 ET (03:41 GMT)

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