Cathie Wood Makes First Buy In An EV Maker In 2022 — And It's Not Tesla

Cathie Wood-led Ark Investment Management on Monday raised its exposure in the U.S.-listed Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc on the dip.

Ark Invest bought 14,859 shares — estimated to be worth $633,439 based on the day’s closing price — in Xpeng, marking the money managing firm’s first buy into any electric vehicle stock in 2022.

Xpeng’s stock closed 5.4% lower at $42.6 a share on Monday and is down 15.2% so far this year.

Shares of Xpeng and its electric vehicle peer Nio Inc have been under pressure recently amid China's growing scrutiny on tech companies including DiDi Global Inc's plans to delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

Further, China’s plan to cut subsidies on new energy vehicles by 30% this year has added to the woes.

China had earlier said NEV subsidies are expected to decline each year by 10%, 20% and 30%, from 2020 to 2022.

Xpeng delivered 98,155 electric vehicles in 2021, much higher than popular rival Nio’s 91,429 deliveries and Li Auto Inc’s 90,491 units last year.

Xpeng delivered 16,000 electric vehicles in December, the highest it has ever sold in a month.

Xpeng Chairman Brian Gu last year said the company aims to sell half of its electric vehicles outside of China.

The maker of electric sedans and SUVs already sells electric vehicles in Norway and plans to ramp up investments overseas next year, including in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Ark Invest bought shares in Xpeng via the Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF on Monday. ARKQ held 676,184 shares — worth $30.46 million in Xpeng, prior to Monday’s trade.

Ark Invest owns a bulk of its exposure in Tesla Inc, the only other all-electric vehicle manufacturer in its portfolio besides Xpeng. Unlike with Xpeng, the popular money manager has been booking profit in Tesla since early September when shares of the company began moving higher and joined the $1 trillion market cap.

Tesla stock closed 3% higher at $1,058 a share on Monday.