Spectators are looking at BYD Song L electric cars at the 21st Changchun International Automobile Expo in Changchun, Jilin province, China, on July 17, 2024. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Shares of major Chinese electric vehicle companies dropped Wednesday after U.S. giant Tesla‘s earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates and General Motors delayed its EV plans.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Xpeng lost as much as 5.74% while Nio‘s stock tumbled as much as 5.26% on Wednesday.
Li Auto‘s shares dropped as much as 3.99% while BYD, Zhejiang Leapmotor and SAIC Motor slid as much as 3.1%, 5.34% and 1.02%, respectively on Wednesday.
In the U.S., shares of Xpeng and Nio closed 6.67% and 4.48% lower respectively on Tuesday.
EV hype has been dwindling, as automakers from Tesla to General Motors scale back or delay their EV plans.
On Tuesday, Tesla reported a second straight quarterly decline in revenue, down 7% to $19.9 billion, from $21.27 billion in the same period a year ago. Tesla shares closed 2.04% lower.
CEO Elon Musk said in the firm’s earnings call on Tuesday that Tesla will host a robotaxi unveiling event on Oct. 10, after originally saying the event would take place on Aug. 8.
When asked about the timeline of “the first robotaxi ride,” Musk said he would be “shocked if we cannot do it next year.” He also noted that his predictions have been “overly optimistic in the past.”
Separately, General Motors on Tuesday said it was delaying further a second U.S. electric truck plant and the Buick brand’s first EV.
Investors were spooked by the pullbacks in growth businesses and General Motors’ shares closed 6.42% lower on Tuesday despite solid financial results.
GM also said it was indefinitely putting on hold the production of its Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle, and that it was making efforts to restructure a joint venture in China with SAIC amid continuing losses.
The EV industry is facing a reality check, after years of buzz which saw automakers putting out optimistic sales forecasts for EV models and announcing ambitious growth targets.
Surging raw material costs, high interest rates and other factors have made EVs much more expensive to produce, as compared to their traditional counterparts.
– CNBC’s Michael Wayland contributed to this report.
