Shares of Li Auto Inc. surged 6.2% in premarket trading Thursday, to bounce off the previous session’s four-month closing low, after the China-based electric vehicle maker said it was moving up the launch of its Li L8 six-seat sport utility vehicle (SUV) to Sept. 30 due to strong demand. The company said it will unveil the Li L8 on Sept. 30, priced below RMB400,000 (about $56,532) with deliveries to start in early November. “We decided to move our launch date for Li L8 forward based on overwhelming market response in anticipation of its release,” said co-Founder and President Yanan Shen. Li Auto’s stock has tumbled 37.2% over the past three months through Wednesday, while shares of rival NIO Inc. have dropped 18.9%, the iShares China Large-Cap ETF has shed 16.4% and the S&P 500 has ticked up 0.8%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.