Electric car firms, Xpeng and Nio, might beat Tesla

According to the latest news, China’s electric car firms are ramping up production faster than the giant electric vehicle giant, Tesla, did in its early days.

On Monday, U.S.-listed start-up Xpeng announced that it has produced 100,000 cars. Remarkably, Xpeng Motors, known as XPeng, is a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer. The company was founded in 2014. Xpeng Motors could produce 100,000 cars six years after the firm launched.

In April, rival electric vehicle start-up Nio announced that it had reached 100,000 vehicle production milestones. Nio is a Chinese car manufacturer, which is specialized in designing and developing electric cars.

As far as we know, the U.S.-listed firm was founded in late November 2014 under a different name. However, it became Nio in July 2014, around four years ago.

Tesla took 12 years to produce 100,000 vehicles from its launch

In comparison, looking through the public filings, Elon Musk owned Tesla took 12 years from its launch in 2003 to produce 100,000 vehicles.

The giant electric vehicle firm, Tesla, has faced various production delays, especially in its early years. The U.S.-based company has since expanded its production capacity with new factories in Shanghai and Berlin.

According to Tesla’s owner, the billionaire Elon Musk, its company surpassed the 1 millionth car mark over a year ago in March 2020.

Significantly, production in the third quarter of the year alone hit 238,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, the firm’s shares are up 11% year-to-date.

Furthermore, Xpeng’s U.S.-listed shares are down 12% so far in 2021, whereas Nio’s stock is down over 25% year-to-date.

In May, Chinese electric battery and vehicle maker BYD announced it produced 1 million passenger cars in the new energy vehicle category. Remarkably, it includes battery-only and hybrid-powered vehicles.

Significantly, BYD’s Hong Kong-traded shares are up over 25% so far this year. The firm’s backers include American billionaire Warren Buffett’s, Berkshire Hathaway.