Shares of Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) are jumping ahead of Tuesday’s market open after the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker reported a near five-fold increase in May deliveries. XPEV stock was up more than 5% following the announcement.
The Guangzhou, China company delivered 5,686 vehicles last month, a 483% increase year-over-year, according to its press release. That brought the number of deliveries for the year to 24,173, a 427% YOY jump.
Just two weeks ago, Xpeng said it expected to deliver between 15,500 and 16,000 vehicles in the second quarter. It delivered 13,340 cars in the first three months of the year, topping its forecast for 12,500 cars.
Of the May deliveries, the company said it produced a record 3,797 units of its signature P7 sedan. The P7 now comes equipped with Xpeng’s XPILOT 3.0 and Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP) highway solutions which enable the company to generate incremental revenues from the proprietary software.
It is the first EV maker in China to offer free charging services to customers. More than 25% of customers paid for the assisted driving software in the 30 days through May 14, up from 20% last quarter.
XPEV Stock Followed Other EVs Down YTD
Today’s pre-market surge will no doubt come as a relief to XPEV stock investors who’ve seen the share price decline 25% year-to-date through May. However, it isn’t the only EV manufacturer to have taken it on the chin so far in 2021. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is down 11.4% and Nio (NYSE:NIO) is off by 21%. The stock hit an all-time high of $74 in November 2020.
It doesn’t matter what stocks or exchange-traded funds you look at; if they’re related to EVs, their performance in 2021 is not good.
For example, the KraneShares Electric Vehicles & Future Mobility ETF (NYSEARCA:KARS) is up 5.9% YTD compared to 12.6% for the S&P 500. It invests 1.27% of its total assets in XPEV. Another exchange-traded fund — First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ:QCLN) — invests 1.96% of its total assets in XPEV. Its top two holdings are Tesla and Nio at 8.5% and 7.8%, respectively. QCLN is down 15.4% YTD.
Earlier today, InvestorPlace contributor Will Ashworth wrote that “it’s fair to say that the entire EV cohort was overvalued as we entered 2021. I, too, was guilty of excessive optimism. However, now that XPEV has moved into the $20s, the evidence suggests that the company’s business model is working.”
On the date of publication, Robert Lakin did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
InvestorPlace contributor Robert Lakin is a veteran financial writer and editor, including previous stints with Bloomberg News and as a buyside equity research editor.
