By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- U.S.-listed shares in Nio Inc Class A ADR (NYSE:NIO) moved slightly lower on Friday, paring back early gains, after the Chinese electric car maker reported lower deliveries than its closest peers in June despite solid growth during the month.
Monthly deliveries jumped by 12,961 vehicles, up 60.3%, as the company got a boost from demand for its electric SUVs and a recovery in China's massive auto market. The uptick marks Nio's best month of deliveries since its shares first started publicly trading in 2018.
However, Nio's results were outpaced by close rivals Xpeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) and Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI). XPeng delivered 15,295 vehicles in June - an increase of 133%. Meanwhile, Li Auto reported a 69% bump up in monthly customer deliveries to 13,024.
Demand has recently begun to pick back up for all three of these EV start-ups, with June's delivery figures following stronger sales in the previous month. The downturn earlier in the year stemmed from strict lockdowns in China that constrained supply chains and disrupted output.
Nio, which has its headquarters in Shanghai and factories in Hefei, was particularly impacted by Covid restrictions. June marks the first month since December 2021 with deliveries over 10,000.
None of the companies provided detailed forecasts about future performance.
But there are signs of recovery in the broader Chinese car market. Retail auto sales for June 20 to June 26 jumped by 28% compared to the previous period in May, according to data released earlier this week from the China Passenger Car Association.