HK Stock Market Move | Car stocks continue to fall, November car sales at the retail end remain low. JP Morgan predicts that demand will continue to be weak in December and the first quarter of next year.

Car stocks continue to decline. As of press time, XPENG-W (09868) fell by 3.73% to 71 Hong Kong dollars; LI AUTO-W (02015) fell by 1.91% to 64.35 Hong Kong dollars; Great Wall Motor (02333) fell by 1.62% to 14.6 Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in November, car production and sales reached 3.532 million and 3.429 million respectively, with month-on-month increases of 5.1% and 3.2% respectively, and year-on-year increases of 2.8% and 3.4% respectively. However, data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that retail sales remained sluggish in November, with national passenger car retail sales down 8.1% year-on-year and down 1.1% month-on-month, indicating a significant weakening of consumer willingness to buy cars. A research report from JPMorgan Chase points out that industry data shows that passenger car sales in mainland China only grew by 3% month-on-month in November, below seasonal levels. Weak demand is mainly due to government subsidies being exhausted earlier than expected, leading to consumers taking a wait-and-see attitude. Mild guidance for fourth quarter sales from major electric vehicle manufacturers, along with data from the first week of December, indicate that the month may continue to exhibit a weak trend. The bank also believes that demand for new energy passenger cars in the first quarter of next year may decrease by about 30% month-on-month and be below seasonal levels.