By Jiahui Huang
Chinese electric-vehicle stocks rise sharply in Hong Kong after robust sales in April showed that appetite for EVs remains solid in the world's largest auto market.
Shares of XPeng--which nearly tripled sales last month--were up 7.3% at HK$78.20 by midday on Friday in Hong Kong.
Shares of Xiaomi, a relative newcomer to the EV space, were up 5.5% while Li Auto gained 4.4%. Geely Automobile was 2.0% higher, while EV giant BYD advanced 2.0% after reporting sales growth of 21% in April and record-high numbers overseas.
The strong April sales figures reported Thursday reflect tailwinds from government subsidy programs to boost consumption, carmakers' promotions, and sentiment-boosting news from the Shanghai Auto Show in late April, where companies rolled out new models and technology upgrades.
Looking ahead, analysts think EV makers will get locked into a new price war.
Carmakers in China's fiercely competitive market have recently been marketing autonomous driving features to sell their vehicles after an aggressive price war last year. But increased regulation around the technology and rising public concerns about safety mean that companies could return to aggressive price cuts.
CCB International analyst Qu Ke points out that the most popular cars sold in April were priced at less than 150,000 yuan, about $20,628, showing Chinese consumers' cost priorities.
Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 02, 2025 00:29 ET (04:29 GMT)
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