HK Stock Market Move | Early morning auto stocks fall across the board, intensifying competition in the automotive market. The threat of US auto tariffs is looming closer.

In the early trading session, the automotive stocks fell across the board. As of press time, LI AUTO-W (02015) dropped by 5.71% to 120.5 Hong Kong dollars; XPENG-W (09868) fell by 3.8% to 83.45 Hong Kong dollars; Great Wall Motor (02333) dropped by 2.33% to 13.44 Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, according to the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, the automotive market in February has seen more intense competition. Against the backdrop of limited market demand, simply engaging in a "price war" is no longer enough to attract potential customers. Product technology attributes, including enhanced intelligent driving, and financial services that are more in line with consumer needs have become the most significant features of the February car market. Chen Shihua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated that competition in the industry has intensified further this year, reflected in competition in various aspects such as intelligent configurations and new product services. Furthermore, the United States has imposed an additional 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, and a 10% additional tariff on goods from China. Minmetals Securities released a research report stating that tariffs will affect more than 200 billion US dollars worth of the US automotive industry, accounting for 37% of the overall market size. The firm pointed out that the additional tariffs and China's retaliatory measures against the US will have a relatively small impact on the Chinese automotive industry, but companies with operations in Mexico will need to find alternative solutions.