XPeng shares hit 8-month high on optimism over humanoid robots

(ECNS) -- Shares of XPeng surged to an eight-month high on Tuesday, fueled by growing market optimism over the Chinese electric vehicle maker's progress in humanoid robotics technology.

Shares of the Hong Kong-listed company rose approximately 17.93% by the close of trading on Tuesday. The American depositary receipts surged 16 percent on Monday, buoyed by broad gains.

The recent demonstrations of XPeng's next-generation humanoid robot, named "IRON," along with other frontier products, including driverless vehicles, have ignited investor enthusiasm about the company's potential to expand beyond its core EV business.

Bloomberg noted that while these innovations are not expected to contribute significantly to short-term earnings, they are reshaping market valuation expectations for the automaker.

XPeng is poised to expand beyond its electric vehicle business into new fields such as extended-range electric vehicles, robotaxis, eVTOLs, humanoid robots, and even AI chips, said Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy at Macquarie Capital Ltd.

"Investors have started to factor in the potential upside optionality if one of these bets succeeds," Hsiao said.

By Tuesday, XPeng's total market capitalization reached HK$207.2 billion (about $26.67billion), surpassing that of rivals Li Auto and Nio.

(By Zhang Dongfang)