Chinese electric car maker Kandi shares rocket 40% on approval of US imports

KEY POINTS

• The stock gain follows NHTSA's approval of Kandi Technologies Group's bid to ship its Model EX3 and Model K22 cars to the U.S.
• The Chinese electric auto maker believes its cars "are competitive in price and quality" to electric vehicles in the U.S.

Chinese workers push an EV past electric vehicles displayed at a parking lot of Zhejiang Kandi Vehicles Co., Ltd, in Hangzhou city, east China's Zhejiang province.

Imaginechina via AP Images

Shares of Kandi Technologies Group rocketed as much as 40 percent Wednesday after the Chinese electric car maker announced it has received approval to import two of its cars to the United States.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved Kandi to ship its Model EX3 and Model K22 cars to the U.S.

"With this, we are confident in introducing our reliable vehicles to the American public," CEO Hu Xiaoming said in a statement. "We believe both the EX3 and K22 are competitive in price and quality with advanced tech features that are in demand by American consumers."

While the two cars are all electric, Kandi is not a "pure play" electric auto maker like Tesla or Nio. Kandi Technologies is the joint venture of Kandi Vehicles and Geely Group, which is one of China's largest automakers.

Kandi shares have risen more than 120 percent in the past year and hit a 52-week high on Wednesday of $8.53 a share. The stock closed up 34.3 percent at $7.98 a share.