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Electric & new energy vehicles
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Chinese EV makers Li Auto, Xpeng and Nio post mixed April sales amid bruising price war

  • Li Auto’s sales fell 11 per cent month on month, while Xpeng and Nio saw sales jump 4 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively
  • BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, sold 313,245 plug-in hybrids and pure battery EVs, 3 per cent higher month on month

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Visitors watch a demonstration at Nio’s battery swap station at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in April. Photo: Xinhua
Yujie Xue
Li Auto, Xpeng and Nio, China’s top three premium electric vehicle (EV) makers, posted mixed sales in April, as companies remain entrenched in a price war in the world’s largest car market that shows no signs of ending.
Beijing-based Li Auto, mainland China’s nearest rival to Tesla, delivered 25,787 vehicles last month, an 11 per cent month-on-month decline but 0.4 per cent higher from a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday. Cumulative deliveries reached 106,187 units in the first four months of the year, 35.6 per cent higher from a year ago.

Guangzhou-headquartered Xpeng delivered 9,393 vehicles last month, up 4 per cent from a month earlier, and 33 per cent more than a year earlier. Overall deliveries year to date reached 31,214 units, 23 per cent higher from a year earlier.

Shanghai-based Nio had the best month among the trio. Deliveries jumped 31.6 per cent month on month to 15,620 units in April, and 134.6 per cent higher year on year. Year to date sales reached 45,673 vehicles, 21 per cent more than a year earlier.

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EV makers in mainland China are pulling out all the stops, including price cuts and promotions, to grow sales and market share at the cost of profitability, analysts said. This is likely to descend into a brutal price war, leading to further consolidation, they added.

Xpeng was affected the most because its models are priced in the 200,000 yuan (US$25,565) to 300,000 yuan range, the most crowded segment of the market, said Phate Zhang, founder of CnEVPost, a Shanghai-based EV data provider.

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