The world's largest hedge fund increased its stake in Nio by more than 70 percent in the first quarter, and doubled its stakes in both Xpeng and Li Auto.

Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund founded by well-known investor Ray Dalio, continued to increase its bets on the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) trio in the first quarter, even as their stocks continued to fall.

At the end of the first quarter, Bridgewater's stake in Nio (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) was up more than 70 percent from the end of the fourth quarter last year, while its holdings in Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV, HKG: 9868) and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI, HKG: 2015) had both doubled.

As of March 31, Bridgewater held 5,323,524 shares of Nio, up 73.5 percent from 3,068,242 at the end of the fourth quarter, according to a Form 13F it filed with the SEC on Friday.

This is the third consecutive quarter the fund has increased its holdings in Nio, after increasing its stake by 71.8 percent in the third quarter of last year and by 8.05 percent in the fourth quarter.

Bridgewater's holdings in Nio at the end of the first quarter were worth $112 million, up 15.29 percent from $97 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

Bridgewater held 2,153,216 shares of Xpeng at the end of the first quarter, up 101.21 percent from 1,070,108 at the end of the fourth quarter.

During the fourth quarter of last year, the fund's holdings in Xpeng decreased by 8.32 percent.
The fund's holdings in Xpeng were worth about $59.41 million at the end of the first quarter, up 10.3 percent from $54.00 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

Bridgewater owned 3,356,105 shares of Li Auto at the end of the first quarter, up 115.56 percent from 1,556,928 at the end of the fourth quarter. Its holdings in Li Auto decreased by 7.51 percent during the fourth quarter.

The value of its holdings in Li Auto was $86.62 million at the end of the first quarter, up 73.32 percent from $50 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

In the first quarter, Nio fell 33.55 percent, Xpeng fell 45.18 percent and Li Auto fell 19.6 percent.