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Hong Kong stock market
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Chinese EV maker Li Auto jumps by the most in 6 months as record profit underpins US$18 billion industry-beating rally

  • Beijing-based carmaker’s shares rose 17 per cent to HK$115.90 on Thursday, the most since 18 per cent on November 4
  • The carmaker made a profit of 933.8 million yuan (US$134.6 million) in the January to March quarter, reversing losses of 10.9 million yuan last year

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Li Auto’s L7 electric SUV is displayed at the Shanghai car show last month. Photo: Reuters
Zhang Shidongin Shanghai
Shares of Li Auto surged by the most in six months, extending its industry-beating rally, after the electric-vehicle maker (EV) reported its best-ever quarterly earnings.
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The stock jumped 17 per cent to HK$115.90 at the close on Thursday in Hong Kong, the most since an 18 per cent gain on November 4 last year. It rose by as much as 17.5 per cent.

The rally has taken the gain in the Beijing-based EV maker to 51 per cent this year, trouncing major domestic rivals from BYD to Nio and Xpeng. Its American depositary receipts (ADRs) climbed 14 per cent to US$28.22 in overnight trading, the most since November 30. Li Auto has added US$17.9 billion in combined market values in 2023, bringing the aggregate capitalisation of its Hong Kong stocks and ADRs to US$60 billion.

Traders increased their bets on Li Auto after the company posted a net income of 933.8 million yuan (US$134.6 million) in the year’s first three months, compared with a loss of 10.9 million yuan a year ago. On a month-on-month basis, profit increased by 261 per cent. The company delivered 52,584 units in the quarter, an increase of 66 per cent from a year earlier.

Li Auto’s turnaround comes against the backdrop of a slowing EV market in China this year, which has been ravaged by a crippling price war amid high industry inventories and a weaker-than-expected post-Covid-19 economic recovery.
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Data from the China Passenger Car Association showed sales of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles dropped 3.6 per cent from the previous month in April. Even BYD, which supplanted Tesla as the world’s biggest EV maker, posted a 44 per cent slump in first-quarter profit on a month-on-month basis.

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