NIO, XPEV, LI Fall In Hong Kong Amid US-China Trade Truce Jitters — Here’s What's Happening Across China’s EV Sector

• U.S. and Chinese officials did not agree on extending the trade truce beyond its Nov.10 expiration.
• Nio is recalling 686 Firefly EVs in China over a potential power-steering defect.
• Xpeng and Li Auto are seeking additional revenue from chips, software and other internally developed vehicle technologies.

Shares of Nio (NIO), Xpeng (XPEV) and Li Auto (LI) fell in Hong Kong on Monday as U.S.-China trade uncertainty returned to focus.

In Hong Kong trading on Monday, shares of Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto each fell 3%. 

US-China Trade Risks Pressure EV Stocks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in New York on Sunday, Sept. 20, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday. The talks covered trade, AI and critical minerals. The two sides also considered lower tariffs on non-sensitive goods but did not agree to extend their current trade truce beyond its Nov. 10 expiration.

The U.S. proposed a six-month extension, while China sought a longer arrangement. Beijing’s compliance with previous rare-earth supply commitments also remains unresolved, keeping tariffs and supply chains in focus for Chinese automakers.

Nio’s Flagship SUVs Gain Ground, Firefly Faces Recall 

Nio expects its ES9 flagship SUV to reach 30,000 cumulative deliveries this week, less than four months after deliveries began. “The golden age of large, 3-row all-electric vehicles has arrived!” Nio user-operations chief Yang Bo said on Weibo, according to CnEVPost. 

The third-generation ES8 also reached 150,000 deliveries on Sunday, one year after its launch. Together, the ES8 and ES9 accounted for nearly 83% of Nio’s main-brand deliveries in August. Nio delivered 24,497 ES9s through August, including 6,479 that month. The six-seat SUV starts at 498,000 yuan with a battery or 390,000 yuan under the company’s battery-rental program.

Separately, Nio is recalling 686 Firefly vehicles produced between March 20 and April 2. A manufacturing issue could cause interference within the steering-column sensor and lead to a loss of power-steering assistance in extreme cases.

Xpeng And Li Auto Look Beyond Vehicle Sales 

Xpeng and Li Auto are seeking to generate more revenue from technology developed for their own vehicles. Xpeng plans to offer foreign automakers its electrical architecture, smart-cockpit systems, Turing AI chips and driver-assistance software. It is also exploring applications involving robotaxis, humanoid robots and other physical-AI products. Xpeng already supplies technology and development services to Volkswagen.

Meanwhile, Li Auto is reportedly pursuing outside customers for its Mach automotive chips, silicon-carbide modules and range extenders. The company has approved the separation of its chip operation, although no supply contracts or order volumes have been disclosed.

The company’s Mach M100 driver-assistance chip is built on a five-nanometer process and provides 1,280 trillion operations per second. Its 70%-owned silicon-carbide unit is also seeking external funding and preparing for a possible initial public offering.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About Chinese EV Stocks?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘bearish’ for NIO, ‘neutral’ for XPEV and ‘bullish’ for LI, while message volume remained ‘low’ across all three tickers. 

So far this year, U.S.-listed shares of NIO and LI have each fallen 28%, while XPEV has dropped 48%. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: Biotech Week Ahead: XLV Beats The Market — Here Are The Stocks, Readouts And Events To Watch Next