HK Stock Market Move | Car stocks collectively strengthened in the afternoon, with XPENG-W (09868) rising more than 8% and BYD COMPANY (01211) rising more than 7%.

In the afternoon, automotive stocks collectively strengthened. As of the time of writing, XPENG-W (09868) rose by 8.36% to HK$77.15; BYD COMPANY (01211) rose by 7.15% to HK$368.8; GEELY AUTO (00175) rose by 7.1% to HK$15.98; LI AUTO-W (02015) rose by 6.62% to HK$91.05. On the news front, it was reported that the European Union and China have agreed to set minimum prices for electric vehicles manufactured in China rather than impose tariffs. BOCOM INTL pointed out that although the United States has recently imposed high tariffs on China, Chinese car exports to the US account for a small percentage, with only 116,000 vehicles exported to the US in 2024, accounting for less than 2% of China's overall car exports, mostly consisting of American brand vehicles being re-imported. Therefore, the bank believes that Chinese domestic car brands will not be significantly affected by US tariff increases. Looking ahead to April, the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show will be held from April 23rd to May 2nd, combined with the implementation of consumption stimulus policies across various regions and the demand for travel during the May Day holiday, is expected to boost car consumption. According to data from China Passenger Car Association, the retail sales of new energy passenger cars reached 991,000 units in March, a year-on-year increase of 38.0% and a month-on-month increase of 45.0%; cumulative retail sales from January to March reached 2.42 million units, a year-on-year increase of 36.4%. In addition, GEELY AUTO recently announced a profit increase, with an expected net profit of 5.2 billion to 5.8 billion RMB for the three months ending in March this year after a change in accounting policies, representing a 220% to 270% year-on-year increase. Guosen believes that under the geopolitical background, as cars are considered consumer goods, stimulus policies are likely to be strengthened, and they have a positive outlook on passenger cars and domestically produced replacement parts.