What happened
Investors in the electric vehicle (EV) sector had a bad final month of 2022. Chinese EV maker Nio (NIO -4.51%), battery developer QuantumScape (QS 4.25%), and charging network company ChargePoint (CHPT 1.01%) all dropped more than 20% in December. Nio lost 23.7%, QuantumScape 24.3%, and ChargePoint dropped 23.3%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Those poor monthly returns capped off what was an extremely poor year for all three.
So what
The negative investor sentiment for these companies that was in place for much of 2022 accelerated in the final month of the year. Some of that was due to macroeconomic conditions, but some was also specific to these businesses. There is also concern that these stocks have more room to fall in 2023, causing some shareholders to cut losses.
The sharp December declines were likely also partly…