The Chinese electric vehicle sector is still hitting COVID roadblocks
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Chinese electric vehicle stocks traded lower in midday action on Thursday with targeted COVID restrictions in China still a major concern.
Nio (NIO
-4.1%), XPeng (NYSE:XPEV
-3.3%), Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI
-4.6%) and Kandi Technologies (NASDAQ:KNDI
-5.4%) all fell.
Production updates: XPeng (XPEV) President Brian Gu said the shutdowns are having a direct impact on the number of cars the automaker can deliver to customers. Toyota Motor (TM) and Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAF) have suspended production at four plants in Changchun, while Tesla's (TSLA) suspension at the Gigafactory in Shanghai started Monday amid a broad phased lockdown in the region. The break in Tesla production is expected to run through at least Friday. General Motors (GM) has production running in its joint venture in Shanghai, but only by implementing a closed-loop process with employees working, living and sleeping in isolation facilities.
Elsewhere in China EV news, BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY) has developed its first fully electric 3 series vehicle for the market. The BMW i3 eDrive35L model that is based on the automaker's line of compact cars will enter the Chinese market in May. The EV has a range of 327 miles when fully charged. Also of note, Nio (NIO) started deliveries of the ET7 sedan this week.