Why Li Auto Stock Zoomed Nearly 12% Higher Today

It's not every day that an electric vehicle (EV) maker reports a record number of quarterly deliveries. On Tuesday, that happened with not one, not two, but three Chinese EV manufacturers.

Of the trio, investors seemed most impressed with Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) achieving that feat. Those folks pushed the company's U.S.-listed stock up by 12% in value across the day. This performance contrasted sharply with the nearly 1% slump of the S&P 500 index.

Year-over-year increases of nearly 50%

Li Auto announced both its latest monthly and quarterly delivery figures. For September, this tally was 53,709, which represented a sturdy 49% year-over-year improvement. This helped boost the number for the company's third quarter to a total of 152,831, shaking down into growth of 45% over the same period of 2023.

The company attributed this indisputably impressive growth to enthusiastic takeup of EVs by Chinese consumers. It didn't mention that top-down government initiatives aimed at bolstering the EV sector also have a strong influence.

Li Auto quoted CEO Xiang Li as saying: "With the penetration rate of new energy vehicles surpassing 50%, the dominance of leading brands has become more pronounced. Since the beginning of the third quarter, the top three brands have captured over 50% of the 200,000 yuan ($28,507) and above new energy vehicle market." ("New energy vehicle" is the common Chinese term for EV.)

A rising tide...

The encouraging delivery figures released the same day by Li Auto's peers, including BYD and Nio, bolster the company's argument. Heavy Chinese consumer demand for EVs of every category is really pushing the domestic industry forward. This will surely be exacerbated by the government's latest package of economic stimulus measures announced last month.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends BYD Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.