NETA Auto Led China’s EV Market in October

On November 1, NETA Auto, Li Auto, NIO, XPeng and other Chinese electric vehicle firms successively announced their delivery data for October. NIO, XPeng and Li Auto have been gradually surpassed by latecomers, and are now facing the impacts of sharp price reductions by Tesla in China.

NETA Auto

The monthly delivery volume of NETA Auto in October was 18,016 units, an increase of 122% year-on-year. So far, the company has achieved positive year-on-year growth for 28 consecutive months. However, the overall growth rate has slowed down, compared with the delivery of 18,005 cars in September.

In terms of specific models, in October, the delivery volume of NETA U was 6,295 units, a year-on-year increase of 115%, while 11,721 NETA Vs were delivered, up 126% year-on-year. On October 10, the NETA U-II, an upgraded version of the NETA U, was officially put on sale. The design and price of the new car changed little, still focused on the market with a price range of 100,000 yuan to 150,000 yuan. The new 8155 chip is likely its main selling point.

NIO

NIO delivered 10,059 new cars in October, including 2,814 ES7s, 3,050 ET7s, and 1,030 ET5s, up 174% year-on-year and basically flat quarter-on-quarter.

William Li, the founder of NIO, said previously that the delivery volume of the ET5 in Q4 will increase gradually, and it is expected that the monthly delivery volume will exceed 10,000 by the end of the year. Up to now, there is a big gap between the actual delivery of ET5s and the expectation. In this regard, NIO said that the production base was seriously affected by ongoing pandemic disruptions in October, and the delivery time for some buyers was delayed. According to the latest news from 36Kr, NIO‘s vehicle production base has stopped production.

Li Auto

In October, the monthly delivery volume of Li Auto was 10,052 units, up 31.4% year-on-year and down 13% quarter-on-quarter, which was slightly inferior to NIO as a whole. Because production of the Li ONE was suspended and delivery of the L8 and L7 hasn’t started, the current main model of Li Auto is its L9.

In this regard, Li Auto tried to boost market confidence by releasing some information about L8. According to Shen Yanan, the co-founder and president, the L8 has received positive feedback and wide recognition from consumers since its release, and the number of orders continues to increase. The L8 will be officially delivered this month. In addition, Shen claimed that customer satisfaction with the L9 exceeded expectations, and that the order volume maintained strong growth.

Huawei’s AITO

In October, Huawei-backed AITO delivered a total of 12,018 vehicles, with a monthly delivery volume exceeding 10,000 for three consecutive months. Since delivery started in March this year, the AITO M5 set a record by achieving a sales volume of more than 10,000 units in just 87 days, and delivery started only 51 days after the release of the AITO M7. Meanwhile, the AITO M5 EV, its first smart luxury pure-electric SUV, has been delivered in multiple cities across China.

Zeekr

Geely’s Zeekr broke through the monthly sales mark of 10,000 vehicles for the first time in October. It delivered 10,119 vehicles, an increase of 22.3% from the previous month, with a total delivery of 55,600 vehicles. Zeekr also released its first MPV on November 1.

SEE ALSO: Geely’s Zeekr Debuts All-Electric MPV for $69K-81K

Leapmotor

In October, 7,026 vehicles from Zhejiang-based Leapmotor were delivered, down 36.35% from the previous month. “The pandemic situation in Zhejiang caused a short-term impact on the overall delivery rhythm,” Leapmotor said. In addition, the Leapmotor C11 Extended Range Edition is about to debut, which will provide a new growth point for delivery in the future.

XPeng Motors

XPeng Motors delivered 5,101 new cars in October, down 49.7% year-on-year, including 2,104 P7s, 1,665 P5s and 709 G3is. However, the highly anticipated XPeng G9 saw delivery of 623 units last month.

In an apparent move to boost morale, He Xiaopeng, the chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors, said after delivery data were released that from November, output of the G9 will climb steadily, and delivery of the P7 and G9 will greatly increase.

“XPeng‘s model cycle will face severe challenges in 2023,” Citigroup wrote in a report released on the eve of the data’s release. XPeng‘s recent weak sales has already reflected this point. Tesla China’s price reduction may further hit XPeng sales. During this year’s Double 11 Shopping Festival, XPeng P7 buyers will enjoy discounts of up to 55,000 yuan.

Regarding the overall performance of the NEV sector in October, the China Passenger Car Association has stated that “the pandemic caused great pressure on the auto market.” The association predicts that near the end of the year, new products will be released in batches. The impending expiration of NEV subsidies and local license policies are likely to provide strong short-term support for the market.