China EV makers Li Auto (LI), Nio (NIO) and XPeng (XPEV) will report April deliveries early Wednesday. EV and battery giant BYD (BYDDF) will report April sales on Wednesday or Thursday.

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Weekly insurance registrations point to a continued rebound for BYD as it led the way on price cuts in 2024. Li Auto, Nio and XPeng are trying to make progress amid competition from Huawei-backed EV brands as well as Xiaomi. Insurance registrations point to a lackluster April for Tesla (TSLA), which has slashed prices and offered big incentives to prop up China sales.

Meanwhile, China will offer incentives for consumers to scrap older gas-burning cars to buy EVs or lower-emission ICE vehicles by year-end. That’s according to a new policy announced on Friday.

The subsidy is RMB 10,000 ($1,409) for buying a new energy vehicle, which includes battery-only electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and fuel-cell vehicles. The subsidy for low-emission ICE vehicles is RMB 7,000.

The policy will likely especially benefit EV makers like BYD that sell many low- or moderate-priced vehicles, where the subsidy will account for a larger share of the price.

Li Auto

As of April 28, Li Auto EV insurance registrations have totaled roughly 24,400. That includes the new Li Auto L6, which began deliveries on April 24. The smaller, cheaper SUV is a smaller version of the L7, which in turn is smaller than the L8 and L9 SUVs. The L-series models are all extended-range electric vehicles (EREV), essentially a form of plug-in hybrid. Li Auto also sells the Mega minivan, its first BEV model.

On April 22, Li Auto slashed its L7, L8 and L9 prices by RMB 18,000-20,000, and cut Mega’s price by RMB 30,000.

In March, Li Auto delivered 28,984 vehicles, after initially targeting 50,000 deliveries back in late February. Li delivered 80,400 EVs in Q1.

Nio Deliveries

Nio insurance registrations totaled 12,600 through April 28

The 2024 ET7 and updated ES7 debuted at the Beijing Auto Show, with deliveries starting on April 30.

Nio delivered 11,866 EVs in March and 30,053 for the quarter.

XPeng Deliveries

XPeng insurance registrations reached about 8,000 through April 28

The EV maker has refreshed some models while offering significant discounts like many of its peers.

XPeng delivered 9,026 vehicles in March and 21,821 in Q1.

BYD Sales

BYD’s insurance registrations totaled nearly 218,000 through April 28.

That doesn’t include registrations for BYD’s premium Denza, FangChengBao and Yangwang brands. It also doesn’t include exports, which continue to ramp up.

On Monday, BYD reported first-quarter net income grew 11% in local currency, with revenue up 4%. Both missed analyst views. However, BYD’s profit margins hit a fresh high despite the auto giant making big price cuts to spur demand.

BYD sold 302,459 vehicles in March alone, including 139,902 BEVs. It sold 626,236 EVs in Q1, including 300,114 passenger BEVs. That was down sharply from Q4’s 944,779 but up 13.4% vs. a year earlier.

Tesla Sales

Tesla doesn’t release monthly China sales, though industry group data will provide April figures later in May.

Tesla has roughly 28,100 insurance registrations as of April 28. That includes 14,800 in the latest week. That follows fresh Tesla price cuts in China. It trimmed prices by 4%-6% for the Models 3 and Y, and up to 22% for imported Model S and X vehicles. Tesla also is offering 0% financing and other incentives.

EV Stocks

Li Auto stock fell 1.9% in Tuesday afternoon market trading. Shares are trying to bounce back after nearly halving from late February to late April, hitting their lowest levels in nearly a year.

Nio stock rose 1.3% Tuesday, but it’s still below its long-sliding 50-day line. Nio stock recently hit its worst levels in almost four years.

XPeng stock edged up 0.4% Tuesday, trying to recover from a 52-week low.

BYD stock fell 1.8% Tuesday. Shares are close to forging a base that’s formed almost entirely below the 200-day line.

Tesla stock sank 4.5% Tuesday, but after surging 15% on Monday as the EV giant cleared key hurdles to launching Full Self-Driving in China.

Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.

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