Li Auto, one of China’s top electric vehicle (EV) companies, broke its monthly sales record for the sixth straight time this year on robust demand in China's EV market. The Beijing-headquartered premium EV maker, often compared to U.S. rival Tesla, delivered 36,060 vehicles in September, a 3.3% increase from the previous month and a 212.7% rise year-on-year. The manufacturer shipped 105,108 vehicles in the third quarter, up 296.3% from the same period last year. It handed 244,225 vehicles to customers from January to September. Monthly deliveries for each model from Li Auto’s Li L series exceeded 10,000 vehicles for the second consecutive month, according to Xiang Li, Chairman and CEO of Li Auto. The Li L series received an over-the-air software update in September, as the company completed the construction of over 100 supercharging stations along highways around the country, Li Auto said in a statement. “Driven by the ever-increasing market demand, we made numerous historic breakthroughs in September,” Xiang said.
Chinese customers, who had been waiting for steeper discounts, returned to the market after a price war initiated by Tesla late last year ended in May. Many shoppers have set their eyes on vehicles from the likes of Li Auto and Shenzhen-based BYD, which does not compete directly with Tesla but dethroned it as the world’s largest EV assembler last year. BYD has yet to release its September figures. Li Auto, Shanghai-based Nio and Guangzhou-headquartered Xpeng are viewed as China’s best answers to Tesla in the premium segment. Xpeng delivered 15,310 smart EVs in September, up 12% from August and 81% from a year ago. Its deliveries have risen every month since February.
However, sales of the Xpeng G6, the company’s new SUV that started deliveries in late July, dropped 41% from the previous month to 8,132 units in September, bringing the cumulative total to 19,381 units for the year thus far. Total smart EV deliveries by Xpeng from July to September reached 40,008 units, a 72% increase from the second quarter. Nio delivered 15,641 vehicles in September, a 43.8% jump year-on-year but down 19% from the 19,329 EVs delivered in August. In the third quarter, the company sold 55,432 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 75.4%. It delivered 399,549 vehicles in the first nine months of the year.
Tesla, which will release its September figures later this month, in August delivered 64,694 vehicles from its gigafactory in Shanghai, up 87.5% year-on-year and 105.9% from July, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). “Growth momentum will continue through the end of 2023 because more drivers choose to buy electric cars thanks to a fast-expanding charging network and launches of new models with intelligent features,” said Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. “The three top Chinese EV start-ups are by all means the beneficiaries of the country’s accelerated pace of electrification on the roads,” the South China Morning Post reports.
