China’s largest electric-vehicle maker is launching a new luxury SUV that will compete with
Tesla
in the world’s largest EV market. Nevertheless, Tesla stock has kept rising—though one of its biggest investors has dumped some shares.
BYD
(1211.H.K.) detailed at a launch event in China Monday its new N7 electric SUV, created under its Denza brand, which is a tie-up with German automaker
Mercedes-Benz Group
(MBG.Germany). The Denza N7 has received 20,000 preorders, the company said, and will sell for between 301,800 yuan ($41,800) and 379,800 ($52,600).
That puts the N7 firmly in competition with
Tesla’s
(TSLA) Model Y, sold in a price range of 263,900 yuan to 363,900 yuan, according to the EV maker’s Chinese website.
China is a key market for Tesla, where it competes fiercely with BYD and other local rivals like
NIO
(
NIO
) and
XPeng
(XPEV), which sell their cars mostly or in some cases exclusively in the Chinese market. BYD reported this week impressive June sales, helping it to a second quarter where it bested Tesla.
But this is a two horse race, as Barron’s Al Root has reported. Though BYD is growing faster than Tesla, both companies are outperforming the wider market and have increased their share in the first half of 2023. The Denza N7 may just be a new avenue through which the two automakers compete.
The N7 launch details, at least, didn’t seem to dent Tesla stock in Monday trading. Its shares jumped 6.9% on Monday, making it the biggest riser in the
S&P 500
index. The stock isn’t trading in the U.S. Tuesday due to the July Fourth holiday.
Nevertheless, a high-profile Tesla investor dumped stock. Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management sold down Tesla positions in two of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to an email from the group’s trading desk sent Monday.
ARK’s flagship
ARK Innovation ETF
(ARKK) sold 25,806 shares of Tesla, worth more than $7.2 million, while the
ARK Next Generation Internet ETF
(ARKW) ditched 3,491 shares, worth just shy of $1 million.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
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