EV Maker Kandi Hits a Couple of Nasty Potholes as Sector Stumbles

Cars and Drivers

Published: November 10, 2020 10:39 am

While some electric vehicle (EV) makers are seeing share prices run higher nearly every day, others are getting clobbered. For example, China-based Kandi Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KNDI) tumbled more than 13% on Monday and shares are tumbling by more than 17% early Tuesday.

When the company reported quarterly results late Monday, shares plunged by 17% in after-hours trading. Kandi posted a net loss of $0.03 per share, compared to earnings per share of $0.23 in the same period last year. Revenue plummeted by 41% as sales in the company’s parts business fell by two-thirds. A gain of more than 50% in sales of off-road vehicles could not offset the loss in the parts business.

Tuesday morning, Kandi announced that it had agreed with certain individual investors for a direct placement of $60 million in common stock at a price of $6.38 per share, a discount of 18% to Monday’s closing price of $7.78. Kandi said that the funds will be used for general working corporate purposes.

Kandi will issue 9.4 million shares of common stock in connection with the placement and issue warrants for another 3.8 million shares to the investors at an exercise price of $8.18 per share. Warrants have a term of 30 months but may not be exercised in the first six months.

In September, Kandi created a wholly owned subsidiary to manage its battery swap service for EVs. The company thinks that its China Battery Exchange Technology company will become the leading battery exchange in China. Another battery swap subsidiary is headed for a listing on the Shanghai exchange.

Kandi expects to begin selling EVs in the United States late in the current quarter. The company’s U.S. subsidiary, Kandi America, announced in July that it would sell two models in the United States: the Kandi K27 with a price of $12,999 including the $7,500 federal tax credit and K23 priced at $22,499 including the tax credit.

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted the two Kandi models certificates of conformance with U.S. regulations. This qualifies the K27 and K23 for certain other state-level incentives.

Kandi stock traded down more than 21% on Tuesday to $6.13, in a 52-week range of $2.17 to $17.40. The consensus price target on the stock is $12.

U.S. EV makers Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) and Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS) both reported earnings late Monday and both traded down Tuesday morning. Nikola got a brief tick higher in the after-hours session based on its statement that talks with GM are continuing. The company was blistered earlier this year by a short-seller report.

Workhorse reported third-quarter revenue of less than $1 million and a loss of $84.1 million. Add a $200 million convertible note financing deal and it’s not hard to figure out why investors are fleeing.

Even shares of current EV darling Nio Ltd. (NYSE: NIO) slipped by nearly 5% Tuesday morning. The glow may be wearing off from huge price target hikes and from rising production numbers.