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Electric & new energy vehicles
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Chinese EV makers Li Auto, Xpeng and Nio post sales declines for second straight month, fuelling price-war worries

  • The two straight months of declines ‘bodes ill’ for the market as a bruising price war may be imminent, sales executive says
  • EV makers are grappling with fiercer competition this year amid a drop in demand and worries about severe overcapacity

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A photo taken on January 10, 2024, shows a factory of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto in Changzhou, in east China’s Jiangsu Province. Photo: Xinhua
Daniel Renin Shanghai
Deliveries by major Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers dropped for the second consecutive month in February, raising worries that a bruising price war may be imminent even though the month included an eight-day break in sales over the Lunar New Year holiday.
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Beijing-based Li Auto, mainland China’s nearest rival to Tesla, delivered 20,251 vehicles in February, down 35 per cent from January, following a decline of 38.1 per cent in the previous month. Nio, based in Shanghai, reported 8,132 deliveries, down 19 per cent month on month, compared to a January drop of 44.2 per cent. Guangzhou-headquartered Xpeng handed 4,545 vehicles to customers, down 44.9 per cent, after it posted a 59 per cent fall in January.

“Weak sales [in February] were expected, but a two-straight-month decline bodes ill for the Chinese electric car market where a new round of price cutting is taking shape,” said Tian Maowei, a sales manager at Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai. “Escalating competition in a slowing market will kick some underachieving players out this year.”

Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng are viewed as China’s best response to Tesla because they offer intelligent vehicles featuring autonomous driving technology, digital cockpits and high-performance batteries.

Xpeng’s G9 model on display at the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on November 28, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Xpeng’s G9 model on display at the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on November 28, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Tesla, which sells its Shanghai-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles on the mainland, does not report monthly sales in China. According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the US carmaker delivered 39,881 units to Chinese customers in January, down 47.4 per cent from a month earlier.

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China’s is the world’s largest EV market, with its sales accounting for about 60 per cent of the global total.

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