On Thursday, China's Li Auto (LI +4.83%) had a rare good day for an electric vehicle (EV) maker on the stock exchange this year. The company's shares rallied to close over 5% higher on the day, following the publication of its latest monthly delivery figures. That pop was notably higher than the 1.3% gain of the S&P 500 index on the day.
Down on a monthly basis, but up sharply year over year
In January, Li Auto delivered 31,165 of its vehicles. Although this was down by 38% from the December tally, it was more than double the January 2023 figure. All told, through the end of the month, Li Auto's cumulative deliveries hit 664,529 units.
While no auto industry investor likes to see double-digit slides in monthly delivery figures, slumps in the early parts of the year are not atypical. Several factors play into this, including high expenditures during the holiday season (which leave less disposable income for big-ticket items like cars), and prohibitively cold weather keeping would-be customers away from dealerships.
In Li Auto's case, market players might have been encouraged by several points company management made in its delivery figures press release. It didn't hesitate to mention that as the year unfolds it will have eight models in its showrooms, four of which are extended-range EVs. Such vehicles are a good fit for such a vast country as China.
A reason to be cheerful?
Investors generally are looking for a reason to be cheerful about EV stocks, since they haven't been popular lately, for the most part. Sales are slowing now that the segment is becoming more established, and once-impressive growth numbers have started to obey gravity. This delivery report from Li Auto could have been better, but the market seemed relieved it wasn't significantly worse.
