What happened
Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) maker XPeng (XPEV 11.09%) were trading lower on Monday, amid a broad-based sell-off of tech-related stocks on growing concerns about inflation and interest rates.
As of 1:15 p.m. ET today, XPeng's American depositary shares were down about 7.6% from Friday's closing price.
So what
There was no major news driving XPeng's stock lower on Monday. The company's shares fell amid a sell-off triggered by a jump in the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rate, from 1.769% on Friday to 1.8% early on Monday.
Rates have been rising on a growing investor consensus that the Federal Reserve will likely begin raising interest rates in March. A key report on consumer prices is due Wednesday; if it shows that inflation remains high, that likelihood will increase.
So what? Broadly speaking, higher interest rates tend to be bearish for auto stocks. Most vehicles are bought on credit; automakers' ability to charge premium prices, and thus their operating margins, can be eroded as consumers' financing costs increase.
While U.S. interest rates aren't a direct factor for XPeng, which doesn't currently sell vehicles in the United States, rising rates in the U.S. tend to have global effects and implications.
That's probably why the stock is down today.
Xpeng's most recent new model is the P5 sedan, launched in September. Image source: Xpeng.
Now what
XPeng did have some minor news on Monday. Zvision, a privately held Chinese lidar start-up, announced that XPeng had led its most recent funding round. The company is working to develop so-called MEMS (for microelectromechanical systems) lidar units, which have fewer moving parts than the more-common mechanical units in wide use today.
That investment was a first for XPeng, which uses lidar units from two other local makers, Livox and RoboSense, in its most recent models for autonomous driving features.
EV investors can expect XPeng to report its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results in early March.
