EV Roundup: 2022 Deliveries of TSLA, NIO, XPEV, LI & RIVN in Focus

Heightening climate concerns, technological advances and stricter fuel-emission standards have turned the fortunes in favor of electric vehicles (EVs). The demand for electric cars is off the charts. Despite a global deficit in semiconductor supply and other supply chain issues, key EV players, including EV king Tesla TSLA and China-based EV makers NIO Inc. NIO, XPeng Inc. XPEV and Li Auto LI managed to witness a year-over-year uptick in full-year 2022 vehicle sales. Rivian Automotive RIVN — theAmazon-backed electric car start-up which went public in November 2021 — delivered more than 20,000 vehicles in 2022 but fell short of its production target of 25,000 units.

While Rivian, Li Auto and XPeng carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Tesla and NIO currently hold a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and #4 (Sell), respectively.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Inside the Headlines

Tesla delivered 405,278 vehicles in fourth-quarter 2022, surging 31.3% and 18.1% on a yearly and a sequential basis, respectively. For the fourth quarter, Tesla listed Model 3 and Model Y deliveries of 388,131 vehicles. Meanwhile, combined Model S and Model X deliveries hit 17,141 units. On the production front, the Model 3/Y accounted for 419,088 of the total production, while the production count for its Model S/X came in at 20,613.

For full-year 2022, Tesla delivered 1,313,851 vehicles in total, up 40% from the 2021 level. Model 3/Y deliveries amounted to 1,247,146 units, while 66,705 Models S/X were delivered in 2022. As far as the production count for 2022 is concerned, TSLA produced 1,369,611 vehicles (up 47% year over year), with the breakdown coming to 1,298,434 units for Model 3/Y and 71,177 units for Model S/X.

NIO delivered record-setting 40,052 vehicles in fourth-quarter 2022, representing a year-over-year uptick of 60%. December’s delivery count was 15,815 vehicles (comprising 6,842 SUVs and 8,973 sedans), up 50.8% year over year. NIO’s yearly deliveries were up 34% to 122,486 vehicles for 2022. The cumulative totaled 289,556 vehicles as of Dec 31, 2022.

On NIO Day 2022, the company launched its third-generation power swap station and 500kW ultra-fast power charger to rev up its power service solutions. As of Dec 31, 2022, NIO has deployed 1,315 power swap stations worldwide, 1,228 power charger stations with 6,225 chargers and 1,058 destination charging stations with 7,159 chargers.

Li Auto delivered 46,319 units in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 74.6% sequentially and 31.5% year over year. In December, the company’s deliveries totaled 21,233 units, representing a 50.7% surge year over year. Last month, deliveries hit a fresh record, with Li Auto claiming to emerge as the fastest EV maker in China to cross the 20,000-delivery mark on a monthly basis. Deliveries of both Li L9 and Li L8 surpassed 10,000 units in December. Both models have strengthened LI Auto’s market position in the RMB300,000 to RMB500,000 price segment.

Total deliveries in 2022 jumped 47.2% year over year to 133,246 units and cumulative deliveries reached 257,334 as of 2022-end. As of Dec 31, 2022, Li Auto had 288 retail stores in 121 cities, and 318 servicing centers and Li Auto-authorized body and paint shops operating in 223 cities.

XPeng delivered 22,204 units in the three months ended Dec 31. 2022. This marks a significant decline from 41,751 units sold in the corresponding period of 2021. The company delivered 11,292 EVs in December 2022, down 29.4% year over year and rocketing 94% from November 2022 levels. Deliveries of the flagship G9 SUVs jumped a whopping 160% sequentially to 4,020 units in December.

For the full year of 2022, total deliveries climbed 23% from a year ago to 120,757 vehicles. Cumulative deliveries as of 2022-end totaled 258,710 units. Last month at China’s Xuan Yuan Awards, XPeng’s G9 SUV was named one of the country’s top 10 cars of 2022. On Dec 27, XPENG introduced the first over-the-air (OTA) update to G9 customers in China.

Rivian delivered 8,054 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2022. It produced 10,020 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, IL during the three months ended Dec 31, 2022. The production and delivery numbers witnessed an uptick from the third-quarter 2022 levels. In the third quarter of 2022, the company produced 7,363 and delivered 6,584 vehicles.

For full-year 2022, Rivian produced 24,337 vehicles, falling short of its target of 25,000 units. It should be noted here that the company had already halved its production target in mid-2022 from its initial forecast of 50,000 units. However, a series of setbacks, including severe supply chain disruptions, led to the production miss. The company delivered 20,332 vehicles in 2022.

Price Performance

The following table shows the price movement of some of the major EV players over the last week and six-month period.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

What’s Next in the Space?

Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming EV models and any important updates from the red-hot industry.

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