Record sales

Shares of Nio and Xpeng Motors rose on reports of higher sales of their electric vehicles in June than in May, as well as strong second-quarter delivery totals for the full second quarter, despite a global semiconductor shortage.

Shares in Chinese electric car makers Nio (NIO) and Xpeng Motors (XPEV) were up 3% and 3.8% respectively before trading opened on Thursday after the companies reported record deliveries for June and the second quarter.

Nio sales for June Nio delivered 8,083 of its premium electric vehicles with autonomous driving features in June 2021. This is an improvement on the decline in deliveries in May and is 116.1% higher than the June 2020 figure. For the previous May, April and March, Nio delivered: 6,711, 7,102 and 7,257 units respectively.

NIO ES6, a five-seater SUV, accounted for most of the sales, as in the previous months: 3,755 units for June, followed by NIO EC6, a five-seater coupe SUV with 2,830 units, deliveries of the six-seater and seven-seater ES8 models stood at 1,498 units. The NIO ET7 is the company's fourth production electric vehicle and its first sedan will go on sale in the first quarter of 2022. It is expected to cost less than the new Tesla (TSLA) Model S Plaid.

XPeng's June shipments up more than sevenfold

XPeng recorded a record 6,565 deliveries of its smart electric vehicles in June, a 617% increase on the previous year and a 15% increase on the previous month. In June, 4,730 units of XPeng P7 sedans and 1,835 units of XPeng G3 compact SUVs were delivered.

The company also achieved a quarterly record of 17,398 deliveries in the second quarter of 2021, up 439% on the same period last year. For the first half of 2021, XPeng's total shipments reached 30,738 units, up 459% year-on-year.

XPeng plans to launch the G3i SUV, a new version of the G3, in July 2021, with deliveries scheduled for September this year. XPeng also plans to launch its third production model, the P5 family sedan, in the third quarter to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter of this year.

On Wednesday, Xpeng said its dual listing in Hong Kong raised the equivalent of $1.8 billion at $42.52 a share. Xpeng shares will start trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on 7 July.