Stellantis Partner Leapmotor Delivery Doubles in August as Most of Chinese NEV Makers Post Positive Growth

TMTPost -- Most of Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) makers returned or maintained positive growth of their deliveries in August, showcasing resilience even in a traditional off seasonof the auto market.

Credit：Leapmotor

Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies Ltd.boasts strongest growth rate on both yearly and sequential basis last month among Chinese NEV companies. With a monthly delivery of 30,305, Leapmotor became the third Chinese NEV startup that delivered more than 30,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in a month. Its delivery in August represented a 113.5% year-over-year (YoY) increase and a 37.1% month-over-month (YoY) increase. Out of the delivery in in August, there are more than 8,000 C16 vehicles, highlighting the strong sales of the three-row SUV launched in July.

The delivery achievement came as Leapmotor began shipment of its joint venture with Stellantis NV,the world’s fourth largest automaker by sales last year.Under a partnership announced last October,Stellantis owns a 51% stake in the venture Leapmotor International and have the exclusive rights for the export, sale and production of Leapmotor vehicles outside Greater China. The ventureaims to produce between 6,000 and 10,000 units in 2024, mostly imported, and up to 100,000 units in 2025. It has shipped the first batch of Leapmotor EVs - C10 SUVs and T03 cars - from Shanghai to European ports in July, Stellantis said in July. Leapmotor CEO Xin Tianshu revealed in May that Stellantis will begin sales of EVs from his company in nine European markets in September, including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Greece and Romania.

BYD Co. Ltd, China’s top NEV maker, sold 373,083 units including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in August with a 36% YoY increase. With a 9% MoM increase, BYD shattered its sales record for a third straight month. August is the sixth month for BYD to return to monthly sales of more than 300,000 units to the year date. Sales of passenger vehicles rose 35.3% YoY to 370,854 units and overseas sales reached 31,451 units, up 25.7% YoY. From January to August, BYD sold a total of 2,318,798 passenger vehicles, on the track to meet its annual target of 3.6 million units.

Zeekr Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., the startup under Volvo’s owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group,delivery in August surged 46% YoY to 18,015 units, reversing a 30% YoY decline a month earlier. The delivery volume represented a 15% MoM increase, still less than its record of 20,106 units set in June with a 89% YoY increase. It took Zeekr just 33 months to achieve a 300,000-unit delivery mark, setting a new record among Chinese full-electric brands. Zeekr delivered 121,540 EVs in the first eight months of this year, up 81% YoY. Zeekr CEO An Conghui said the company didn’t change its sales target of 230,000 vehicles this year.

Xpeng Inc. maintained positive growth in August. It dliverey 14,036 EVs, representing a 3% YoY increase and a 26% MoM increase. In the first eight months of 2024, the Guangzhou-based company delivered 77,209 Smart EVs, a 17% increase from the same period last year.

Delivery of Li Auto Inc., a leader of Chinese NEV startups, jumped 37.8% YoY to 48,122 units in August, but dropped 5.6% from a month record it set in July. The company delivered 288,103% vehicles in 2024 to date. Nio Inc. shipped 20,176 vehicles in August. The EV company has recorded monthly delivery of more than 20,000 units for four months in a row. The latest delivery edged up 4.4% YoY while fell 1.6% MoM, compared with a 4% MoM decrease in July. The company delivered 128,100 vehicles year-to-date in 2024, increasing 35.8% YoY.