Last Friday, Shi Ji, Executive Director of CMB International Securities said “We like all the leading new-energy vehicle start-ups including Xpeng, Nio and Li Auto, as we believe the current auto industry that evolves faster than ever before needs pioneers, not followers”. “Consumers have become more demanding and the trio have been creating new values.” In 2021, deliveries at Nio surged 109%, XPeng 263%, while Li Auto recorded a 177% increase.
Nio is expected to be listed in Hong-Kong during this year but Xpeng and Li Auto are already being traded there, which means they could be eligible for the Stock Connect Programme from as early as this quarter when they meet the six-month trading rules, according to Citic Securities.
Stock Connect is a Mutual Market Access programme through which investors in the Mainland China and Hong Kong can trade and settle shares listed on the other market via the stock exchanges and clearing houses in their home market.
If so, they would join medical equipment maker Shanghai Microport Medbot and food wholesaler China Dili Group and 19 others in making the cut — it added.
Since the listing in Hong Kong in early July, Xpeng has gained 5.8%, while the Hang Seng Index slumped 10%, according to Bloomberg data. Li Auto, however, has lost 3.1% since it started trading in August, while the benchmark index fell 5.7%.
EV sales in China surged 169 per cent to nearly 3 million units in 2021, with the NEV sector making up 14.8% of deliveries and set to beat the 20% penetration this year ahead of the official 2025 target.
Green vehicles will make up one in five automobiles on China’s roads by 2025, according to a development plan for so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs) for 2021 to 2035, released by the State Council. The government cabinet said the development guidelines published late last November were aimed at “boosting high-quality development of the industry.”