Warnings about the creation of yet another bubble in the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) space were aplenty between 2019-2020. Against the backdrop of a low interest rate environment over the past few years, growth stocks like those in the EV space saw meteoric rises in valuations, evidenced in the high enterprise value-to-revenue (EV/Revenue) multiples. Since then, the likes of BYD Co. Ltd (SEHK: 1211) and NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) have seen their EV/Revenue fall from high teens in 2021 to mid-single digits more recently. Declining EV/Revenue multiples suggest that valuations for Chinese EV stocks have come down, possibly presenting opportunitiesfor bullish investors to enter. In this piece, we put forth the idea that the frothiness of certain Chinese EV stocks has subsided, and some of them may just be worth a second look.
We begin by scaffolding the automobile and EV arena: 2022 was a momentous year as the number of EV units sold surged past the 10-million mark, representing more than...