New York, Jan 8, 2026, 06:14 EST — Premarket
- Rivian rose before the bell despite a U.S. recall tied to a rear suspension part
- Tesla faced fresh Europe demand pressure as BYD and Xiaomi pushed new China updates
- Traders braced for U.S. jobs data that could sway rate bets and risk appetite
Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) rose 2.8% to $20.06 in U.S. premarket trading on Thursday after regulators said the EV maker is recalling about 20,000 vehicles, while Lucid Group (LCID.O) fell 4.9% and Tesla (TSLA.O) slipped 0.4%. The recall covers 19,641 previously serviced R1S SUVs and R1T pickups over an improperly reassembled rear toe link, a suspension component; the agency said Rivian will replace the bolts free of charge and cited one crash with minor injuries, while the company produced 42,284 vehicles and delivered 42,247 in 2025. 1
The mixed moves came with broader risk appetite on a shorter leash ahead of U.S. labour data that could reset interest-rate expectations, a key input for high-growth shares. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were down about 0.30%, 0.22% and 0.31% at 05:08 a.m. ET, Reuters data showed; “a move towards more government intervention would create uncertainty and add to some risk premium,” Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies, said. 2
Tesla, the biggest name in the group, was also working through another soft demand read from Europe. German road traffic agency KBA data showed Tesla’s sales volume in Germany nearly halved in December from a year earlier, while Chinese rival BYD surged, underscoring intensifying competition in a region where price and model cadence can swing registrations month to month. 3
In China, BYD said it would launch this month upgraded versions of four plug-in hybrid electric vehicle models — cars that can run on both a battery and a gasoline engine — with longer-range batteries as local rules tighten for tax breaks. The company said the new versions of the Qin PLUS DM-i, Qin L DM-i, Seal 05 DM-i and Seal 06 DM-i will have a combined driving range of 2,110 km, including more than 210 km on batteries. 4
Xiaomi, another fast-growing China EV entrant, began taking pre-orders for an upgraded SU7 sedan and leaned hard on safety messaging after public criticism. “Safety is the basis and premise,” CEO Lei Jun wrote, as the company flagged an April market launch for the longer-range version and set a higher pre-sales starting price than the original model. 5
The sector is also pulling signals from CES in Las Vegas, where the pitch has shifted from new EV sheet metal to the software and robotics that sit around it. Arm said it has reorganized to create a “Physical AI” unit focused on robotics and automotive, as Nvidia unveiled a tool called Alpamayo aimed at powering the next generation of autonomous vehicles; “the real spend … is when they combine the machining with the level of AI,” said C.J. Finn, PwC’s U.S. automotive industry leader. 6
Elsewhere in EV-linked names, Chinese EV ADRs were mostly lower, with Nio (NIO.N) flat and XPeng (XPEV.N) down 1.1%, while Li Auto (LI.O) slipped 0.3%. Charging stocks were softer, with ChargePoint (CHPT.N) down 2.4%, while EVgo (EVGO.O) was little changed.
But demand remains the swing factor, and Europe is still throwing mixed signals. An EY analysis of German registration data flagged that 2025’s strong EV growth came off a weak 2024, after the end of a federal subsidy hit demand; “We haven’t seen a real boom yet,” EY mobility specialist Constantin Gall said, warning the hoped-for surge is proving slower and harder than expected. 7
Investors now look to Thursday’s weekly jobless claims and Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for a read on the economy and rate path — the next test of whether traders keep paying for long-duration EV growth stories, or fade them into the open.
