VinFast Stock Soars, EV Peers Rise As China Worsens. Will "Shock And Awe" Stimulus Come?

Jun 06, 2023

VinFast (VFS) continued surging Monday following its blockbuster Aug. 15 initial public offering and bouts of volatility last week. VinFast stock pegged a post-IPO high.

In other EV news Monday, BYD (BYDFF) posted near-record profits for the second quarter. The EV giant also announced a deal with Jabil (JBL). Xpeng (XPEV) announced a pact with ride-hailing giant Didi Global (DIDI). Jabil stock jumped Monday. BYD, XPeng stock and Didi all advanced.

VinFast, as well as BYD and XPeng, tap Asia's growing market for electric vehicles.

But as China's economy falters, global investors are said to be fleeing the country. Many may stay out until they see another round of "shock and awe" government stimulus, similar to 2008.

EV startup VinFast came public Aug. 15 through a blank-check merger deal, also known as a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, merger.

The startup is majority owned by the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup.

As of June 30, VinFast says it has delivered 19,000 electric vehicles, spanning four models. Its manufacturing footprint includes a plant in North Carolina.

In the U.S. market, VinFast currently sells the VF8 electric sedan and VF9 electric SUV. The seven-seat VF9 starts at $83,000 with a range around 300 miles. The VF6 and VF7 SUVs are coming soon.

VinFast stock skyrocketed in thin trading on its debut Aug. 15. The stock opened at $22 that day and ended at $37.06.

The new IPO stock surged more than 346% last week despite bouts of volatility. Trading was briefly halted on Aug. 18, Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 due to volatility, according to TheFly.com.

VinFast stock jumped nearly 20% to 82.35 in Monday's stock market action. Shares notched a post-IPO high of 93 intraday.

That gives the EV startup, which has yet to post a profit, a market capitalization of around $191 billion. That is more than the combined market capitalization of Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) at around 48 billion each.

Those investors looking to invest in Vinfast stock should ideally wait for an IPO base to form. EV stocks from startup companies tend to be highly volatile, sometimes failing to live up to initial hype.

On Monday, China EV and battery giant BYD delivered net profit for the second quarter of 6.824 billion yuan ($936 million). That was up 145% year over year and up 65% from the first quarter. It was also reportedly the second-highest on record after last year's fourth quarter.

Revenue during the quarter came in at RMB 139.95 ($19.2 billion), up 67% vs. a year ago and up 16.5% from the first quarter. BYD had already signaled soaring Q2 profits.

BYD sold a record 703,561 electric vehicles, including hybrids, in the second quarter.

Also on Monday, BYD announced its electronics unit will buy Florida-based Jabil's electronics unit in China for 15.8 billion yuan ($2.2 billion).

BYD stock, which trades over the counter, rose 2.2% to 29.45 Monday. JBL stock jumped 8.9%, above 112 and near a 52-week high.

Late Sunday, China EV startup XPeng announced a strategic partnership with Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.

The $744 million deal includes the purchase of Didi's smart car unit.

Didi will become a strategic shareholder in XPeng, which plans a new EV brand in 2024 based on the partnership. It is currently being developed the project name "Mona."

In 2016, Apple invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing, sometimes called China's Uber (UBER). That was one of the largest-ever strategic investments by the iPhone maker at the time.

After the pandemic, and China's crackdown on the tech and internet sectors, Didi struggled to regain ground in 2022. Amid those struggles, an Apple executive quietly exited the Didi board last August.

XPeng stock popped more than 5% Monday. Didi stock, which trades over the counter, rose more than 3%.

Nio (NIO), an EV startup rival to XPeng, rose nearly 2%, with earnings due Tuesday.

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