EV Stocks Weekly Recap: Tesla’s China Bounce, Rivian Recall and Policy Shockwaves Rock the Sector (Dec 1

The first week of December 2025 was anything but quiet for electric vehicle (EV) stocks. While global EV adoption is still on a long‑term upward trajectory, markets spent the week wrestling with collapsing U.S. EV sales, fresh recalls, aggressive Chinese competition, and yet more price cuts from Tesla.

Below is a news-style recap of the key EV stock movers and the major forecasts and analyses that shaped sentiment between 1–7 December 2025.

This Week in EV Stocks – At a Glance

Tesla (TSLA) got a rare dose of good news from China and Norway, even as it cut prices again in Europe with a new low-cost Model 3. ^[1]
Rivian (RIVN) announced a recall of about 35,000 vehicles—more than 20% of its total sold—but investors largely shrugged it off, with shares still up strongly year to date. ^[2]
Chinese EV names Nio (NIO), XPeng (XPEV) and Li Auto (LI) posted strong November deliveries, yet their stocks fell as traders questioned whether December’s targets are realistic amid intensifying competition. ^[3]
Legacy players like Ford (F) reported a brutal collapse in U.S. EV sales following the end of federal tax credits, underscoring how dependent the sector still is on incentives. ^[4]
Charging and infrastructure stocks, notably Blink Charging (BLNK) and ChargePoint (CHPT), slumped on fresh analyst warnings about slower EV demand and sector-wide headwinds. ^[5]

Key EV & auto headlines, Dec 1–7 2025

Tesla Stays at the Center: China Lift, Europe Discounts, Norway Rush

China Finally Delivers a Positive Surprise

For most of 2025, Tesla’s China story has been about softening demand and lost market share to domestic rivals. This week brought a rare break in that narrative.

China’s Passenger Car Association data showed 86,700 China‑made Teslas sold in November, up about 10% year over year and representing Tesla’s second‑best month of 2025. ^[46]

Several factors supported this bounce:

Newly introduced variants, including a long‑range rear‑wheel‑drive Model Y and updated longer‑range Model 3 trims. ^[47]
Heavy use of promotions and incentives ahead of year‑end and looming policy changes. ^[48]
Consumers pulling forward purchases before expected adjustments to local subsidies and tax benefits. ^[49]

Even so, the good news is tempered by the broader context:

Tesla’s overall China deliveries are still down more than 8% year to date, and the company recorded year‑on‑year growth in only three months of 2025. ^[50]
The wider Chinese new‑energy vehicle (NEV) market grew around 20% year over year in November, meaning rivals are still gaining ground overall. ^[51]
BYD remains the global volume leader, commanding about 19.3% of global plug‑in sales in the first nine months of 2025, more than twice Tesla’s share—even though BYD’s own share has slipped slightly from 2024. ^[52]

For Tesla shareholders, the China numbers eased immediate fears that demand was in free‑fall, helping push TSLA closer to its prior record high, though the stock is still one of the few “Big Tech” names that hasn’t set a new all‑time high in 2025. ^[53]

Europe Gets a Cheaper Model 3 – and a Reminder Demand Is Fragile

On 5 December, Tesla launched a lower‑priced “Model 3 Standard” in Europe, with a price of €37,970 in Germany and a quoted range of over 300 miles (about 480 km). ^[54]

Key points from the launch:

The model drops some premium features to hit the lower price point, positioning it below Tesla’s main Model 3 trim (around €45,970 in Germany). ^[55]
It follows a similar strategy in the U.S., where Tesla introduced cheaper versions of both the Model 3 and Model Y earlier in 2025 to protect volume. ^[56]
The move responds to both softening European EV demand and rising competition from BYD and Volkswagen’s ID lineup, which often undercut Tesla on price. ^[57]

The European launch underlines a broader theme for EV stocks this week: pricing power is eroding, and the path to growth increasingly runs through lower-priced, mass‑market vehicles, which tend to compress margins. Investors are watching whether Tesla can balance volume with profitability as it leans harder into discounts while also spending heavily on AI and autonomous driving ambitions. ^[58]

Norway Shows How Policy Can Warp EV Demand

In Norway, Tesla recorded a stunning milestone: 28,606 registrations in a single month, enough to break Volkswagen’s previous full‑year record for any brand. The surge came as Norwegians rushed to buy EVs before new tax hikes that take effect in January. ^[59]

The overall Norwegian car market jumped about 70% year over year in November, with fully electric vehicles accounting for nearly 98% of sales. ^[60]
Tesla’s record month in Norway contrasts with falling market share in continental Europe, where its share dropped to around 1.6% from 2.4% a year ago amid backlash over CEO Elon Musk’s political activities and stiff local competition. ^[61]

For investors, Norway’s data is a double‑edged sword. It shows what’s possible when incentives are generous and deadlines loom—but also how EV demand can cliff‑edge if taxes rise or subsidies vanish, a theme that reappeared in the U.S. data this week.

Rivian’s 35,000‑Vehicle Recall: Loud Headline, Mild Market Reaction

EV truck and SUV maker Rivian confirmed a recall of nearly 35,000 vehicles, tied to a seat belt pretensioner cable that may not perform as intended. The fix involves an over‑the‑air software update and, where needed, a free inspection and parts replacement. ^[62]

What made the story notable was less the defect itself—recalls are routine in the auto industry—than investors’ reaction:

The recall affects more than 20% of all Rivian vehicles ever sold, yet the stock only dipped modestly in early trading and stabilized quickly. ^[63]
Despite demand headwinds and the loss of U.S. federal EV tax credits, Rivian shares are still up around 30% in 2025 and about 45% over the past 12 months, though they remain roughly 90% below their post‑IPO peak. ^[64]
Forecasts for 2026 have been dramatically reset: early post‑IPO projections of 380,000 units have been cut to roughly 66,000, underscoring how much growth expectations have cooled across the EV sector. ^[65]

The muted reaction suggests markets now view execution risk and occasional recalls as “priced in” for younger EV makers. As long as Rivian keeps controlling costs and delivering on its production ramp, investors appear willing to look past isolated quality issues.

Legacy Automakers: Ford’s EV Sales Collapse Highlights Policy Risk

If Norway illustrated how incentives can supercharge demand, Ford’s November numbers showed what happens when those incentives vanish.

Ford sold just 4,247 EVs in the U.S. in November, a 61% year‑over‑year drop and a 10% decline from October. ^[66]
EVs fell to less than 3% of Ford’s U.S. sales, down from 6.5% a year ago. ^[67]
The slump followed the elimination of the federal EV tax credit of up to $7,500 under President Donald Trump’s July 4 tax bill, which dramatically worsened EV economics for U.S. buyers. ^[68]

Ford’s stock slipped about 1.5% on the report, and analysts warned the numbers could be a warning sign for the entire EV sector, not just Ford. ^[69]

Commentary from Inside Climate News and other outlets this week framed U.S. EV sales as being “in the tank,” raising the question of whether the November slump is a structural setback or partly a distortion from buyers pulling forward purchases before tax credits expired earlier in the year. ^[70]

For investors in EV stocks, the Ford report reinforced two themes:

Policy sensitivity – In the U.S. especially, EV adoption is still highly dependent on federal and state incentives.
Asymmetric regional growth – While markets like Norway and China maintain high EV penetration, the U.S. is lagging, hampering domestic-focused EV makers and infrastructure plays. ^[71]

Chinese EV Makers: Record Deliveries, Nervous Shareholders

Chinese EV stocks were another focal point of the week. The headline numbers were impressive, but investor reactions were downbeat.

Big November Volumes

Data released on 1 December showed: ^[72]

XPeng delivered 36,728 vehicles in November, up 19% year over year.
Nio delivered 36,275 vehicles, a 76% year‑over‑year surge, as its multi‑brand strategy and refreshed models gained traction.
Li Auto delivered 33,181 vehicles, but that marked a 32% decline from a year earlier and reflected a difficult transition between model generations.

Together, the three delivered more than 106,000 vehicles for the month and over 1 million vehicles in 2025 so far, a roughly 31% annual increase. ^[73]

Stocks Drop on Concerns About 2026

Despite the robust delivery data, XPeng and Nio shares fell around 3% in pre‑market trading, and Li Auto slipped about 1.6%, as investors questioned whether record December sales were sustainable in a market increasingly dominated by price cuts and shrinking subsidies. ^[74]

Additional pressure came from:

Reports that Chinese EV stocks in Hong Kong extended losses midweek, with names like BYD, Nio, XPeng and Li Auto sliding as year‑end sales momentum waned. ^[75]
Articles highlighting how Nio’s share price has given back a large portion of its 120% rally between July and October, leaving it up only single digits year to date after double‑digit declines in November and early December. ^[76]

The message from markets: growth alone isn’t enough. Investors want clearer paths to profitability, disciplined spending and evidence that Chinese EV makers can defend margins in a prolonged price war.

New Entrants and European Strategy Shifts: Zeekr, Volkswagen and the Supply Chain

Zeekr Lands in Germany

On 1 December, Geely‑owned Zeekr officially launched in Germany with three EV models starting at €37,990, targeting premium customers, corporate fleets and rental companies. ^[77]

Zeekr has already lined up partnerships with BNP Paribas and leasing giant Arval, and plans to expand to Spain, Italy, France and the UK in 2026, further intensifying competition for Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes in their home region. ^[78]

Volkswagen Tightens Spending but Doubles Down on Europe

Volkswagen Group used the week to signal a more disciplined stance. The company will invest €160 billion (about $186 billion) through 2030, a slight reduction from earlier multi‑year plans, with a focus on products, technology and infrastructure in Germany and Europe. ^[79]

The shift reflects:

Tariff pressure in the U.S. and cut‑throat competition in China, which have weighed on premium brand Porsche and forced it to scale back some EV ambitions. ^[80]
An effort to balance EV investments with shareholder returns after a period of very heavy capital spending. ^[81]

This is part of a broader pattern: established automakers are refining, not abandoning, their electrification strategies—focusing on segments and regions where they believe they can earn acceptable margins.

Nickel and the Battery Supply Chain

Beyond automakers, the EV battery supply chain also made headlines. A Reuters deep‑dive this week noted that Indonesia’s nickel boom—built largely on Chinese demand—now faces oversupply as EV makers increasingly pivot toward lithium‑iron‑phosphate (LFP) batteries, which use no nickel. ^[82]

The upshot for investors in EV‑related commodities and materials stocks:

Nickel inventories have surged on the London Metal Exchange, and prices have weakened, with analysts expecting a surplus that could last until around 2030. ^[83]
While Western markets still favor some nickel‑rich chemistries for long‑range and performance vehicles, the rapid rise of cheaper LFP batteries pressures nickel‑focused investment theses. ^[84]

Charging & Infrastructure: Blink, ChargePoint and the Demand Question

EV charging stocks had another rough week.

Blink Charging (BLNK) shares dropped nearly 11% in a single session and are down more than 15% over the week, as investors reacted to a broader sell‑off in EV‑related names and concerns about slower demand. ^[85]
A research note from RBC Capital on ChargePoint (CHPT) flagged “uncertainty in underlying EV demand growth” as a key risk, triggering sector‑wide selling that hit Blink and other charging players, even though the note was not specifically about them. ^[86]

At the same time, longer‑term analysis of EV charging stocks still highlights opportunities in companies operating large networks and recurring‑revenue software models, particularly in North America and Europe, but this week underscored how sensitive these names are to short‑term EV sales trends and analyst commentary. ^[87]

Forecasts and Long‑Term EV Outlook: 2026 and Beyond

Despite the near‑term turbulence, several major reports and forecasts released or cited this week painted a structurally bullish picture for electric vehicles—if not necessarily for every EV stock.

Global EV Adoption Still Climbing

The International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2025 projects global EV car sales surpassing 20 million units in 2025, reinforcing that EV adoption continues to climb even as regional growth rates diverge. ^[88]
A new Gartner forecast estimates about 116 million EVs will be on the road by 2026, underscoring how quickly EVs are moving from niche to mainstream. ^[89]
S&P Global Mobility and related research emphasize a widening gap between leading and lagging markets:
- Leaders such as Norway, mainland China and core EU countries (the “EU5”) now see EVs taking roughly 23–50%+ of new car sales, supported by consistent policies and dense charging networks.
- The U.S. and many emerging markets trail far behind, held back by higher up‑front costs, patchy infrastructure and more volatile incentives. ^[90]

Analysts Still See Select EV Stocks as Potential Winners

This week also saw a fresh wave of stock‑picking articles and screens focused on EV names:

MarketBeat’s screener repeatedly highlighted Tesla, Rivian, Nio, XPeng, Lucid Group, QuantumScape and BorgWarner among the EV stocks with the highest recent dollar trading volume, pointing to elevated investor interest and liquidity in that group. ^[91]
A widely shared technical analysis piece identified nine “best” EV stocks for December 2025, including BYD, Li Auto, Nio, XPeng, Polestar, VinFast, Tesla, Rivian and Lucid, with bullish calls on certain names like Li Auto on valuation and operational grounds. ^[92]
Long‑term opinion columns argued that EV stocks could be among the best performers in 2026, singling out Tesla as a potential robotaxi leader, Rivian as a value‑to‑growth story, and Lucid as high‑risk, high‑reward—while stressing that volatility will remain extreme. ^[93]

At the same time, other analyses—especially those focused on Nio and Chinese EV names—warned that recent rallies have already priced in a lot of good news, and that meeting profitability targets will be critical if these stocks are to sustain their gains. ^[94]

What This Week Means for EV Stock Investors

For traders and longer‑term investors watching EV stocks, the 1–7 December 2025 week reinforced several key takeaways:

Policy remains the single biggest swing factor.
- Norway’s tax deadline drove a record sales month for Tesla, while the removal of U.S. federal tax credits drove a 61% EV sales collapse at Ford. ^[95]
- Future policy decisions in the U.S., Europe and China will continue to drive boom‑and‑bust cycles in EV demand—and therefore in EV stock prices.
Growth is no longer enough; profitability and capital discipline matter.
- Chinese EV makers delivered huge volume growth but saw their stocks fall on concerns about margins and 2026 guidance. ^[96]
- Volkswagen’s decision to trim but extend its massive investment plan shows established players trying to balance EV spending with returns. ^[97]
The EV ecosystem is broad—and not all parts move together.
- Automakers, battery metals (like nickel), charging networks, and software suppliers face very different risk profiles, as shown by Indonesia’s nickel oversupply story and the sell‑off in Blink and other charging names. ^[98]
Long‑term demand still looks strong, but the path will be volatile.
- With forecasts pointing to more than 20 million EVs sold in 2025 and over 100 million on the road by 2026, the macro demand backdrop remains supportive, even if individual companies stumble. ^[99]

For investors, that means stock selection and time horizon are crucial. Rather than treating “EV stocks” as a single trade, the events of this week argue for:

Differentiating between profitable incumbents and cash‑burning upstarts.
Watching policy calendars (tax credits, tariffs, emissions rules) as closely as earnings calendars.
Diversifying across the EV value chain—vehicles, batteries, infrastructure and key materials—while recognizing that each segment comes with unique risks.

As December unfolds, markets will get more data on year‑end deliveries, 2026 guidance and policy shifts. For now, the first week of the month has made one thing clear: EV stocks remain a high‑conviction, high‑volatility corner of the market, where good news can coexist with sharp sell‑offs—and where understanding the headlines behind the ticker symbols is more important than ever.

References

EV Stocks Weekly Recap: Tesla’s China Bounce, Rivian Recall and Policy Shockwaves Rock the Sector (Dec 1–7, 2025)