Lynk & Co will launch the fully electric 02 model in Europe. But Lynk & Co hasn't got EVs in the model line. So what are they up to?
The post Lynk & Co to bring the 02 electric vehicle to Europe. What car is it? appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
Tagged: China
LiDAR maker Hesai posts record Q1 revenue
Hesai began trading on the Nasdaq on February 9 and has suffered a prolonged sell-off since then, with a cumulative decline of more than 60 percent to date.
Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai Group (NASDAQ: HSAI) posted record revenue in the first quarter and improved gross margins compared to the fourth quarter of last year.
Hesai reported a net income of RMB 429.9 million ($62.6 million) in the first quarter, up 73.0 percent year-on-year, according to the company's earnings report, which was released after the US stock market closed on May 23.
The company reported product revenue of RMB 424.1 million in the first quarter, up 77.7 percent from RMB238.7 million in the first quarter of 2022.
This was due to increased demand for autonomous mobility and ADAS LiDAR products as volume production of the AT128 began in the third quarter of 2022, Hesai said.
Hesai shipped 28,195 ADAS LiDAR units in the first quarter, compared to 222 units in the same period in 2022.
It shipped a total of 34,834 LiDAR units in the first quarter, up 402.9 percent year-on-year.
Hesai's gross margin for the first quarter was 37.8 percent, up from 30.0 percent in the fourth quarter, but down from 50.9 percent in the first quarter of last year.
The decline was due to increased shipments of lower-priced ADAS LiDAR products during the ramp-up stage with a lower in-house plant capacity utilization rate.
It reported a cost of revenue of RMB 267.3 million in the first quarter, up 119.2 percent year-on-year, caused by higher shipments of LiDAR products, partially offset by a decrease in unit costs.
Hesai's sales and marketing expenses for the first quarter were RMB 35.4 million, an 83.1 percent increase from RMB 9.3 million in the first quarter of last year.
The company's general and administrative expenses for the first quarter were RMB49.5 million, an increase of 10.8 percent from RMB 44.7 million for the same period in 2022.
Hesai's research and development expenses for the first quarter were RMB 208.5 million, an increase of 99.2 percent from RMB 104.7 million for the same period in 2022.
This year-on-year increase was primarily due to the recognition of one-time stock compensation expense of RMB 66.7 million related to stock options granted under the performance conditions of the IPO and increased payroll expenses of RMB 28.3 million due to an increase in R&D staff, Hesai said.
Hesai reported a net loss of RMB 118.9 million for the first quarter, compared with RMB 25.1 million for the same period in 2022.
Excluding stock-based compensation expense, it reported non-GAAP net income of RMB 1.6 million in the first quarter, compared with RMB 2.1 million in the same period in 2022.
It reported basic and diluted net loss per common share of RMB 0.98 for the first quarter, and non-GAAP basic net income per share and non-GAAP diluted net income per share of RMB 0.01.
Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were RMB 3,141.4 million as of March 31, 2023, compared to RMB 1,859.1 million as of December 31, 2022.
Hesai expects second-quarter net income to be in the range of RMB 410 million to RMB 430 million, an increase of about 94.3 percent to 103.8 percent year-on-year.
Hesai began trading on the Nasdaq on February 9 under the ticker HSAI and has suffered a prolonged sell-off since then, with a cumulative decline of more than 60 percent to date.
The company closed down 2.8 percent to $9.37 on Tuesday, with a total market capitalization of about $1.18 billion. It was down 1.28 percent in Tuesday's after-hours trading.
Hesai unveils ultra-thin LiDAR ET25 that can be placed behind windshield
The post LiDAR maker Hesai posts record Q1 revenue appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
NIO counting down to new ES6 launch, deliveries ready to go
Some auto bloggers on Weibo said NIO is gearing up for deliveries of the new ES6, which could start even as soon as the launch event is over.
NIO (NYSE: NIO) is counting down to the launch of the new ES6, with the model that will be key to reversing its weak sales trend less than eight hours away from its official launch.
Visitors to NIO's website can see the countdown, and as of press time, the launch event for the new ES6 is 7 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds away.
The launch event of the new ES6 will begin at 7:00 pm Beijing time on May 24 (7:00 am US Eastern time on May 24), and viewers will be able to watch a live video stream on channels including the NIO App, NIO.com, and NIO Weibo.
NIO announced on May 16 that test drives of the new ES6 will be available starting on launch day and deliveries will begin on May 25.
This will be NIO's fastest model from official launch to delivery, as its local peers, including Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI), have proven that efficient delivery is critical to success in the highly competitive Chinese EV market.
Some auto bloggers on Weibo said that NIO is already preparing for deliveries of the new ES6, which could start even at the end of the launch event.
NIO originally said deliveries of the new ES6 would start on May 25, but because buyers want to get their hands on the new car as soon as possible, deliveries could start tonight, according to Wu Ying, an auto blogger with 970,000 followers on Weibo.
"What I know so far is that there are already a few cars in Shenzhen that are being readied and will be available for delivery at the end of the launch tonight," he said.
(Image credit: Wu Ying on Weibo)
Notably, NIO has not yet announced the price of the new ES6, which is expected to be below RMB 400,000 yuan ($56,700).
NIO gave the new ES6 its debut on the first day of the Shanghai auto show on April 18, when it began allowing consumers to pay an RMB 5,000 deposit to reserve the model.
On May 11, a large number of NIO App users received a push message from NIO containing a questionnaire asking them to vote on what they thought was a reasonable price for the new ES6.
NIO offered six options in that questionnaire: below RMB 368,000, RMB 368,000, RMB 378,000, RMB 338,000, RMB 398,000, and RMB 398,000 or more.
On May 20, NIO announced that the new ES6 show cars were available at nearly 300 NIO stores in 92 cities.
On May 22, it said the model was available in more than 330 NIO stores in 100 cities.
NIO's showrooms include the flagship NIO Houses as well as the smaller NIO Spaces, and they numbered 110 and 270 in China, respectively, as of April 30, according to data it released on May 1.
NIO released its first-generation ES6 in December 2018 and began delivering the model in China in June 2019.
Available data for 2022 show that from January to August, 32,877 ES6 units were delivered, contributing 46 percent of NIO's total deliveries of 71,556 units for the period.
The wait for the new ES6 by potential consumers may have depressed NIO's deliveries.
In the first three weeks of May, insurance registrations for NIO vehicles were 3,700, according to data from earlier this month.
($1 = RMB 7.0554)
China NEV insurance registrations for week ending May 21: Li Auto 7,100, XPeng 1,500, NIO 1,400
The post NIO counting down to new ES6 launch, deliveries ready to go appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
Lithium carbonate supply in China seen as still in surplus, despite recent price rebound
The overall supply-demand pattern in China's lithium carbonate market has not changed much, and remains oversupplied, industry sources said.
Lithium carbonate prices in China have rebounded in the past month after a rare prolonged decline earlier in the year. However, the key raw material for power batteries is still seen as oversupplied.
The overall supply and demand pattern in China's lithium carbonate market hasn't changed much and remains oversupplied, according to a report today in the local media Securities Times, citing a source at data provider Shanghai Metals Market.
Upstream lithium producers' output has declined in recent months, but imports of the raw material have increased and overall supply has not decreased, the source said.
Downstream demand has only increased slightly, leaving the overall supply pattern unchanged, the source said.
On May 23, a 32-ton lithium carbonate auction from a supplier in northwest China's Qinghai province saw only one bidder, resulting in a sale at a starting price of RMB 295,000 yuan ($41,800) per ton, according to the report.
As a comparison, Lake Lithium's May 11 auction of 600 tons of lithium carbonate saw multiple bids and a final price significantly higher than the average lithium carbonate price that day, the report said.
On November 23, 2022, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate in China rose to RMB 590,000 per ton, up about 14 times from RMB 41,000 per ton in June 2020.
However, factors including weak demand for electric vehicles have caused lithium carbonate prices to decline all the way after heading into 2023.
Lithium carbonate prices did not see a single day of gains in China this year until April 21, falling about 65 percent since the beginning of the year.
After that, lithium carbonate prices rebounded quickly, with battery-grade lithium carbonate returning to RMB 300,000 on May 18.
Since the rebound began late last month, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has risen 66.67 percent in China and industrial-grade lithium carbonate has risen 111.11 percent.
For this round of rise in battery-grade lithium carbonate prices, industry sources agree that it is due to factors including stockpiling by manufacturers and speculation by traders, according to the report in Securities Times.
Meanwhile, some downstream producers are in a position to restock their inventories, and their demand for inventory replenishment has also helped the price rise, the report said.
($1 = RMB 7.0566)
The post Lithium carbonate supply in China seen as still in surplus, despite recent price rebound appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
Wuling Mini EV April sales reveal the reason for a massive price cut
Mini EV sold 17,080 units in April in China.
The post Wuling Mini EV April sales reveal the reason for a massive price cut appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
Equation Leopard. BYD F-Brand’s name finally unveiled, and it is really strange
The mystery around the BYD's F-Brand was finally dispelled. It has appeared to be Fangchengbao or Equation Leopard.
The post Equation Leopard. BYD F-Brand’s name finally unveiled, and it is really strange appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
CPCA expects China NEV retail sales to rise 10.5% MoM to 580,000 in May
Passenger vehicle sales in China are expected to be around 1.73 million units in May, up 27.7 percent year-on-year and up 6.6 percent from April, the CPCA said.
In May, retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China are expected to be around 580,000 units, up 60.9 percent year-on-year and up 10.5 percent from April, according to estimates released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Survey shows that major automakers, which contribute about 80 percent of passenger car sales, are targeting retail sales growth of more than 5 percent in May compared to April and an improvement of more than 20 percent year-on-year, the CPCA said.
According to preliminary projections, Chinese passenger car sales in May were around 1.73 million units, up 27.7 percent year-on-year and up 6.6 percent from April, the CPCA said.
That means the penetration rate of NEVs at retail in May was about 33.5 percent.
During the Labor Day holiday, many cities held auto shows, giving the auto market a high level of attention, the CPCA said. This year, China's Labor Day holiday ran from April 29 to May 3.
The incentives offered by car companies, coupled with local government policies to promote consumption, allowed the Chinese auto market to see a good start in May, with market sentiment and transactions significantly better than the same period in previous years, the CPCA said.
However, as some consumer demand was released at the beginning of the month, the market enthusiasm dropped back significantly as traffic and orders at sales stores turned light after the holidays, the CPCA noted.
Average daily retail sales for major vehicle companies in the first week of May were 53,600, up 46 percent from the previous week and up 67 percent year-on-year.
Average daily retail sales for the second week were 47,300, up 5 percent from the previous week and up 44 percent year-on-year.
Average daily retail sales in the third week are expected to be 53,000, and in weeks four and five the figure is expected to be 72,500, the CPCA said.
In mid-May, the overall discount rate in China's passenger car market was about 16.9 percent, largely unchanged from the previous month, with prices at sales outlets stabilizing, according to the CPCA.
CPCA weekly data: NEV retail sales for 1st 2 weeks of May at 217,000
The post CPCA expects China NEV retail sales to rise 10.5% MoM to 580,000 in May appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
China NEV sales in the week of May 15-21: Li Auto 7100, Nio 1400, Tesla 10200
Weekly sales are back.
The post China NEV sales in the week of May 15-21: Li Auto 7100, Nio 1400, Tesla 10200 appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
Baojun Yep electric SUV from GM, SAIC and Wuling to start from 11,885 USD in China
The Baojun Yep prices and specs were unveiled before the official launch. It has appeared to be cheaper than we thought.
The post Baojun Yep electric SUV from GM, SAIC and Wuling to start from 11,885 USD in China appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
China NEV insurance registrations for week ending May 21: Li Auto 7,100, XPeng 1,500, NIO 1,400
This article is being updated, please refresh later for more content.
Tesla vehicles registered 10,200 insurance units in China last week, bringing the number to 26,118 for the first three weeks of May.
Li Auto founder, chairman and CEO Li Xiang said last week that they had been complained about by some of their peers and therefore could not continue to share the weekly insurance registration numbers.
Interestingly, however, the company resumed sharing those numbers today to continue to show that it leads the pack among Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) startups.
For the week of May 15 to May 21, Li Auto sold 7,100 units, far outpacing other new car brands and reigning as the weekly sales leader for new automaking brands in the Chinese market, the company said today on Weibo.
Li Auto did not explain on what basis the sales were counted, but apparently, they were insurance registrations.
Li Auto surpassed all other traditional luxury brands except Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi to remain in the top five luxury brands in the Chinese market in terms of sales, the highest-ranked Chinese brand on the list, it said.
In the first two weeks of May, Li Auto vehicles had 4,543 and 6,670 insurance registrations, respectively. This means that from May 1 to May 21, Li Auto sold about 18,313 vehicles.
The tables Li Auto shared today show that NIO vehicles had 1,400 insurance registrations last week. This means that NIO had 3,700 insurance registrations for the first three weeks of May.
NIO deliveries continue to be curbed by the upcoming launch of the new ES6, with insurance registration figures of 1,100 and 1,200 in the first and second weeks of May, respectively.
NIO will officially launch the new ES6 on May 24, and its deliveries will start on May 25.
The company is getting the ES6 to market with unprecedented delivery efficiency, and as of May 20, the new ES6 show cars were available at nearly 300 NIO stores in 92 cities.
XPeng registered 1,500 insurance units last week, the same as the previous week. In the first three weeks of May, XPeng vehicles had 3,870 insurance registrations.
XPeng deliveries were also dampened by the new model G6, which is expected to officially launch and begin deliveries at the end of next month.
Insurance registrations for Tesla vehicles in China were 10,200 last week, bringing the figure to 26,118 for the first three weeks of May. The number was 5,928 and 9,990 in the first two weeks of May.
The post China NEV insurance registrations for week ending May 21: Li Auto 7,100, XPeng 1,500, NIO 1,400 appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
