Chinese EV Makers Report February Delivery Volumes

With the gradual economic recovery in China following the Spring Festival holiday and the COVID-19 outbreaks, electric vehicle sales showed growth in February.

Tesla rival BYD sold a total of 193,655 vehicles in February, compared with 88,283 in the same period of last year. Among them, there were 90,639 pure electric passenger cars and 101,025 plug-in hybrid passenger cars. In the first two months of this year, BYD’s cumulative sales volume reached 345,000 units, up 90% year-over-year.

GAC Aion sold 30,086 vehicles in February, up 253% year-over-year and 195% quarter-over-quarter. On February 1, the company launched the Aion S Plus 70 Enjoy Edition with a price of 149,800 yuan ($21,726) and a range of 510 km (317 mi). Its sales goal in 2023 is between 500,000 and 600,000 units.

In February, Li Auto delivered 16,620 new cars, up 97.5% year-over-year. A total of 31,761 vehicles were delivered in January and February this year. At present, Li Auto‘s sales volume is supported by its L8 and L9 models. The first batch of L7 models will be delivered in the third quarter. The L8 includes a new Air version, which will further broaden Li Auto‘s product matrix. The company is expected to deliver between 52,000 and 55,000 vehicles in the first quarter of this year. To achieve this target, it needs to sell 20,000 vehicles in March.

NIO delivered 12,157 vehicles in February, up 98.3% year-over-year and 42.9% quarter-over-quarter. Among them, 5,037 SUV models and 7,120 sedan models were delivered. Founder William Li is confident to double the annual sales target to 245,000 vehicles. According to the financial report, in 2022, NIO‘s gross profit margin fell to 10.4%. Li expects to improve the gross profit margin to between 18% and 20% this year.

SEE ALSO: NIO Builds Battery Factory to Support 400K EVs Per Year

NETA Auto, the “dark horse” in EV industry last year, has gradually slowed down the growth rate of delivery since December last year. In February this year, NETA sold 10,073 vehicles, up 41.5% year-over-year and 67.4% quarter-over-quarter. The NETA U and V models remain their best sellers, but the NETA S is gaining ground.

XPeng Motors delivered 6,010 vehicles in February, down 3.45% year-over-year and up 15.18% quarter-over-quarter. After receiving negative feedback from owners of the G9 model last year, XPeng has carried out a series of reforms. This year, Wang Fengying, a former Great Wall Motor executive, and Yi Han, a former Geely executive, joined XPeng.

The sales performance of Zeekr, a high-end vehicle brand owned by Geely, recovered rapidly. Zeekr delivered 5,455 vehicles in February, up 87.07% year-over-year and 75.06% quarter-over-quarter. Aside from its delivery volume, Zeekr’s unique listing process drew public interest. Earlier, Geely announced that Zeekr would be listed independently. In February this year, Zeekr completed a funding round that raised $750 million, putting the company’s valuation at $13 billion.

Huawei-backed AITO has witnessed weak sales for several months. In February this year, it delivered 3,505 vehicles, down 21.68% from the previous month. AITO was quick to follow suit after Tesla’s price reductions in October of last year and in January of this year. Judging from AITO’s current sales, the effects of their price reductions have been limited.

Leapmotor’s recent sales growth have stagnated. In February this year, it delivered 3,198 vehicles, an increase of 180.8% from the previous month and a decrease of 6.9% from the previous year. Leapmotor explained that it is cleaning up its inventory and adjusting the production line. On March 1, the prices of all Leapmotor models were greatly reduced, with the highest drop of 50,000 yuan ($7,251).

The China Passenger Car Association believes that with the further dilution of the impact of the epidemic, consumer confidence will recover steadily, and vehicle sales will be back on track in March.