Top Five Chinese EV startups: Li Auto Leads and Xiaomi Gaining Momentum.[19459037]

Chinese new energy vehicles (NEVs) companies have released sales data for December 2020 and the entire year. The top five emerging EV startups, excluding traditional automakers such as BYD and Geely are Li Auto (excluding Leapmotor), NIO (excluding XPeng), XPeng and Xiaomi. Here’s a closer view of their performance:

Li Car””efe4e78c23eb58ef1dd4605cfd2f5f7c””> *Deliveries for December: 58 513

*Deliveries of 2024: 500,508

*Cumulative Deliveries: 1,133,872

Li Auto surpassed its monthly delivery record by delivering 58 513 vehicles in December. It became the first EV start-up to surpass 500,000 deliveries annually, achieving 500 508 in 2024.

Li Auto came very close to achieving this goal. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW sold 510,000 cars in China as of November. It would have been a different story if not for the disappointing performance by the Li Auto MEGA.

Leap motor

*December Deliveries () : 42 517

*Deliveries of 2024: 293,724

*Cumulative Deliveries: 602,119

Leapmotor has delivered more than 40,000 vehicles in December for the second month in a row, breaking a monthly record of 42 517. Its cumulative deliveries have also exceeded 600,000. Li Auto and NIO are the only two companies that trail it, with less than 50 000 vehicles separating them.

NIO

*Deliveries for December: 20,610

*Deliveries of 2024: 201,209

*Cumulative Deliveries: 650,803

NIO delivered 20,610 vehicles in December, bringing the total to over 20,000 per month. Firefly is the first model of NIO’s third brand, which was unveiled during NIO Day 2024. The Firefly has a starting price CNY148.800 and will be launched in April 2025.

XPeng (

)

*Deliveries for December: 36,695

*Deliveries of 2024: 190 068

*Cumulative Deliveries: 590,379

XPeng has exceeded 30,000 deliveries in two consecutive months and reached 36,695 in the month of December. It also set records for delivery for four consecutive month, with its new model XPeng M03 becoming a bestseller and achieving over 10,000 sales in its first full-month.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Yu7 SUV Standard Version Appearance in Real Life (19659005)

Xiaomi Auto””6ede7e273f7450d8126f86ebce1f9f1a””> *Deliveries in December: More than 25,000

*Deliveries of 2024: More than 135,000

*Cumulative Deliveries: Over 135,000

Xiaomi Auto exceeded its annual target of 135,000 deliveries in December. The company plans to deliver 300,000. Only Li Auto, Leapmotor and NIO exceeded 300,000 annual deliveries by 2024.

Industry trends in 2024

Despite challenges such as NETA Auto halting its production and Ji Yue Auto ceasing operations, fundamentals in the Chinese NEV industry remain strong. Most mid-tier and leading startups have delivered more than 200,000 vehicles annually, with a diverse range of products, stronger brand identities, and improved service and supply chain capabilities.

Profitability remains a challenge, however, for many startups. Many NEV players are still facing financial pressure, aside from Tesla, BYD and Li Auto, who became profitable in 2023.

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