IMC-Chicago more than doubled its equity stakes in Nio and XPeng during the second quarter of 2026, while cutting its Tesla position by 45% and fully exiting Rivian, its most recent 13F filing showed.
The quarterly portfolio update, filed on August 6 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), shows the US subsidiary of Dutch market-making firm IMC Trading shifting exposure away from American automakers toward Chinese brands.
IMC-Chicago’s overall 13F portfolio grew 50.4% during the quarter, rising from $278.4 billion to $418.7 billion across 6,769 holdings, up from 6,101 three months earlier.
Chinese EV Stakes Surge
IMC-Chicago’s equity holdings in Nio surged 120.4% during the April-to-June period, rising from 1,167,184 American depositary shares (ADS) to 2,572,872.
The position was valued at $13 million as of June 30, up 85% from $7 million three months earlier.
The firm rebuilt its Nio position from scratch in late 2024 and then doubled the stake in back-to-back quarters through the end of 2025, finishing the year at 3,178,590 shares.
IMC reversed course in the first quarter, cutting 63.3% of that position to about 1.17 million shares by March 31 — before swinging back to aggressive buying during the past three months.
On the options side, IMC trimmed both its call and put exposure on Nio during the quarter.
Call option holdings fell 23.6% to 3,391,200 contracts, down from 4,441,000 three months earlier, while the value of those calls dropped 35.9% to $17.2 million.
Put options declined 9.3% to 3,618,100 contracts, valued at $18.3 million — a 24% decrease in dollar terms.
Similarly, IMC-Chicago’s stake in XPeng surged 121.2% to 1,085,529 ADS from 490,745 at the end of March — with the position’s value jumping to $14.4 million.
The firm also increased its call option exposure on XPeng by 18% to 1,449,400 contracts, though the value of those calls fell 8.7% to $19.2 million amid price declines.
Put options rose 17.2% to 716,600 contracts.
IMC held 809,987 XPeng shares at the end of 2025, according to its prior quarterly filing.
The position fell 39.4% to 490,745 shares by March 31 before the Q2 rebound — mirroring the same trim-then-double pattern seen in Nio.
IMC first appeared in XPeng‘s filings in early 2021, when the stock traded above $40 per share.
The firm has entered and exited the stock multiple times since then, a pattern consistent with its market-making activity.
A smaller but striking move came in Li Auto, where IMC-Chicago expanded its equity position by 746.3% — from just 12,417 ADS at the end of March to 105,083 by June 30.
The value of the position grew from $221,000 to $1.2 million.
US EV Exposure Shrinks
The trading firm’s trajectory in US EV makers has not followed the same path.
IMC-Chicago had already exited its position in Lucid Motors during the first quarter, selling all its 105,477 shares — which had been valued at $1.1 million by the end of 2025.
Between April and June, the firm also liquidated its entire Rivian equity position, disposing of all 444,941 shares it held at the end of March.
The stake had been worth $6.7 million.
IMC had only just re-entered Rivian in the first quarter, after exiting its 112,770-share position in Q4 2025.
The rapid buy-and-sell cycle fits a well-established pattern — IMC has entered and exited the EV maker at least six times since first appearing in the automaker’s filings in mid-2022, when it disclosed 20,877 shares, per regulatory data.
However, IMC maintained substantial options positions in Rivian.
Call option holdings rose 29.8% to 6,040,000 contracts, valued at $104.8 million — a 49.6% increase in dollar terms. Put options climbed 5.6% to 3,858,600 contracts, worth $66.9 million.
IMC has reduced its equity in Tesla stake by 45.5% — to 763,327 shares from 1,400,346 — at the end of the second quarter.
Options activity in the Elon Musk-led company remained largely flat, with call option holdings edging up 0.7% to 20,419,200 contracts, valued at $8.6 billion.
Put options increased 13.2% to 16,396,400 contracts, worth at $6.9 billion.
US Automakers
Outside EV makers, IMC-Chicago opened a new equity position in Ford Motor Company during the second quarter, disclosing 530,451 shares worth at $7.4 million in the Detroit automaker.
The firm had slashed its holdings to zero at the end of the first quarter.
IMC has no current position in General Motors, having fully exited the stake between April and June, after selling 67,129 shares in the automaker.
The Amsterdam-headquartered parent company, IMC Trading, was founded in 1989 and operates as a proprietary trading firm and market maker across equities, options, ETFs, fixed income, and currencies.
IMC-Chicago, which opened in 2000 as the firm’s first international office, is now the company’s largest global location.
