What happened
Shares of Chinese electric-car maker Kandi Technologies (KNDI +2.72%) plummeted in Wednesday trading to close 8.8% lower -- then continued to slide in after-market trading. Why?
Perhaps this is a case of buying the rumor and then selling the news.
Kandi has two new cars to sell -- but very few buyers. Image source: Kandi Technologies.
So what
Two days ago, Kandi previewed its upcoming "live virtual launch event," which took place Tuesday. In that preview, management promised to show off "the sleek design and advanced technology features of the Kandi K23 and K27 electric vehicle (EV) models" -- and promised that the first 1,000 people to place pre-orders for one or the other electric car would be offered a $1,500 discount on their order.
But whatever car buyers thought of the event, investors seem unimpressed. Yesterday, shares of Kandi stock fell 13.5% in the aftermath of the presentation. Today, they're down nearly 9% more.
Now what
Will Kandi stock bounce back -- or continue sliding in the days to come?
According to a management update today, "tens of thousands of people" viewed its virtual unveiling, but only 11,000 "potential buyers" registered for the event, and so far pre-order reservations have totaled just 436. Which is kind of surprising: Placing a pre-order required only a $100 down payment -- and even that, the company said, was "fully refundable"!
Maybe that number will grow, but for now, it kind of sounds like Kandi's product launch was a bit of a flop -- and so is Kandi stock today.
