Chinese EV Brands Expand Retail Presence In Australia
Polestar and Deepal expand Australian operations as they seek growth in the local market
Polestar Australia and DEEPAL Australia have both announced expansions of their Australian retail operations, hoping to build brand awareness of their electric vehicle offerings and drive sales in new markets:
Solitaire Automotive Group will operate Polestar Adelaide, aiming to combine online test-drive bookings and customer enquiries with a traditional dealership experience, differing from the brand's flagship 'Spaces'. Polestar has recently introduced the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 SUVs to Australia, and is pinning its hopes on these SUVs to dramatically increase sales after a 30% fall in 2024 to 1,713 units.
Deepal is moving into Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane, as the Inchcape-distributed brand looks to attract customers with its S07 SUV, which offers a 79kWh battery with up to 475km of range, starting from $53,900. Deepal will however have their work cut out for them; the electric SUV segment in Australia is booming at the moment with the ever-popular Tesla Model Y, BYD Atto 3 and Seal PHEV, and newcomers from Xpeng, Leapmotor and Chery newly entering the market.
Polestar’s Adelaide retail space. Image: Polestar Australia
Image: Deepal Australia
Chinese EV Manufacturers' Stocks Surge, as Deliveries Increase in October
Strong EV sales for October in China have demonstrated promising signs that consumer confidence is returning to the domestic market, and has bolstered the stock prices of some of China’s electric vehicle manufacturers. As trading opened yesterday, investors pushed prices of Li Auto (makers of the hybrid range-extender Li Xiang One), NIO and XPeng up sharply from Friday’s close
Image: XPeng Motors
Strong EV sales for October in China have demonstrated promising signs that consumer confidence is returning to the domestic market, and have bolstered the stock prices of China’s major electric vehicle manufacturers. As trading opened yesterday, the prices of Li Auto (makers of the hybrid range-extender Li Xiang One), NIO and XPeng rose sharply from Friday’s close according to The Motley Fool.
Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) was up approx. 13%
3,692 units delivered in October
21,852 units YTD
NIO (NYSE:NIO) was up approx. 10.9%.
5,055 units delivered in October (+100.1% YoY)
31,430 units YTD (+111.4% YoY)
XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) was up approx. 10.3%.
3,040 units delivered in October (+229% YoY)
17,117 units YTD (+64% YoY)
Nio exceeded 5,000 deliveries for the first time in October, and the company’s factory has a production capacity of 5,000 vehicles per month. This strong demand has seen Nio’s share price soar over 700% this year. For comparison, Tesla’s share price is up approx. 380% year-to-date.
While Tesla China’s sales for October have yet to be released, it’s expected that exports to Europe from the Chinese Gigafactory, the upcoming Model Y production ramp and news from Reuters that new energy vehicle sales will make up 20% of China’s market by 2025 will continue to boost Tesla’s share price after a late October dip.
Image: NIO
