The six new forces are divided into three tiers.
Original by Dingjiao One
On September 1, new energy vehicle companies submitted their August performance reports as usual.
The top two spots have remained unchanged for three consecutive months, with the gap in the middle still being small. XPeng continues to lead with 103,100 vehicles, while Hongmeng Zhihang delivered 42,100 vehicles, still ranking second. XPeng ranks third with 39,100 vehicles. Li Auto delivered 37,700 vehicles, rising to fourth place. NIO delivered 35,800 vehicles, while Xiaomi only disclosed "over 30,000 vehicles".
The six new forces thus fall into three tiers: Leapmotor stands alone in the top tier, HarmonyOS Smart Driving, Xpeng, Li Auto and NIO cluster between 35,000 and 42,000 vehicles, and Xiaomi holds above 30,000.
It's worth noting that the partner car companies of Hongmeng Zhihang have released their August sales data. Sales of "Serlis Auto", which corresponds to the Askar brand, were 20,700 units in August, roughly the same as in July; sales of Zhiji were 8,561 units, up 404.2% year-over-year.
Expanding to traditional automakers, based on the new energy vehicle sales data disclosed by leading companies, BYD sold 433,400 vehicles in August, Geely New Energy sold 175,900 vehicles, and Chery New Energy sold 120,900 vehicles. The new energy business of leading traditional automakers' passenger cars has already reached the level of 100,000 to 400,000 vehicles.
At the brand level, multiple new-energy brands under traditional automakers also rank near the top of the list. Competition is intense in the 30,000-40,000 unit range, while those exceeding 40,000 include Changan's Qiyuan brand (45,885 units) and BYD's Fangchengbao (41,568 units). In the 30,000-unit tier are Geely's Zeekr (36,981 units) and GAC's Haobo Aion BU (36,383 units).
Further down, Deepal (28,659 vehicles) is approaching 30,000 vehicles; Tengshi (16,001 vehicles) and Lantu (13,003 vehicles) are between 10,000 and 20,000 vehicles; Avita (8,082 vehicles), Huajing (7,306 vehicles), and Zhiqi (6,163 vehicles) are concentrated between 6,000 and 8,000 vehicles. The higher-end BYD Yangwang sold 442 vehicles, with a volume that is not in the same range as mass-market brands.
The sales ranges of traditional automakers and new forces have clearly overlapped. For new forces, even if monthly deliveries reach 40,000 units, it's difficult to pull away from brands in the same tier. The next thing to watch is whether new cars can continue to contribute to incremental growth and whether existing models can maintain their sales.
01. Leapmotor Stabilizes at 100,000, Hongmeng Zhihang Continues to Decline
The top two spots on the August list remained unchanged, but the gap between them has widened.
NIO delivered 103,129 vehicles, while Hozon Auto delivered 42,101 vehicles, with a difference of approximately 61,000 vehicles, an expansion of about 4,800 vehicles from July. NIO has topped 100,000 vehicles for the second consecutive month, while Hozon Auto has seen a decline for two consecutive months from its intra-year high in June.
From March to August, XPeng has seen six consecutive months of month-over-month growth, with August seeing a 1.8% increase, and the growth rate gradually narrowing.
This month, the company has taken numerous product-related actions. The A05, which was launched on August 11, further expanded the A series' coverage to the 60,000 to 90,000 yuan price range, from SUVs to sedans. Since the A05 was only launched mid-month, its full contribution is not yet reflected in August's delivery numbers. The previously updated B01 and B10 also entered their first full delivery month in August. Additionally, with the "818" car-buying privileges, XPeng is still vying for incremental growth through new cars and promotions.
NIO has been able to consistently deliver 100,000 vehicles, primarily because multiple price ranges have models that simultaneously contribute to sales. The A series is responsible for driving sales below 100,000 yuan, while the B and C series hold their ground in the mainstream price range, and the D19 attempts to push prices upward. The overseas market has also provided some incremental growth. Several product lines have collectively boosted sales and reduced NIO's reliance on a single model.
In the first eight months of the year, NIO delivered a cumulative total of 560,883 vehicles. To meet the company's goal of delivering 1 million vehicles, it would need to deliver approximately 110,000 vehicles per month for the remaining four months, a threshold about 6,700 vehicles higher than in August.
While scaling up, Zerun also needs to balance the relationship between the large sales volume of low-priced models and gross margin. In the first half of the year, Zerun's delivery volume grew by 60.8%, revenue increased by 57.2%, and the company's net profit was 210 million yuan, but the gross margin dropped from 14.1% to 11.7%.
If low-priced models like the A05 continue to see increased production, Zerun Auto can expand its sales volume, and its product structure will further shift towards low-priced models. Going forward, Zerun Auto will need to rely on its mainstay A series models to drive sales, while also leveraging its D series to increase average prices.
Hongmeng Zhihang ranked second, delivering 42,101 vehicles in August, down 6.5% month-over-month and 5.6% year-over-year, marking its second consecutive month of decline.
From 50,624 vehicles in June to 42,101 vehicles in August, Hongmeng Zhihang delivered 8,523 fewer vehicles over the two months, a decline of nearly 17%. The cumulative growth rate also slowed from 18.6% in the first half of the year to 10.8% in the first eight months. While the total volume continued to decline, the performance of several brands was not consistent.
Looking at sales, the main force is Wenjie. Wenjie did not separately disclose its August delivery volume, but according to the production and sales report of Seres, "Seres Automobile" (which basically corresponds to Wenjie's production and sales entity) sold 20,652 vehicles in August, down 49.7% year-over-year; in July, the sales volume was 20,480 vehicles, up less than 1% month-over-month.
In August, Saic Motor's sales volume was 443,000 units, with a year-on-year decrease of 9.4%. The cumulative sales from January to August reached 3.517 million units, representing a year-on-year decrease of 14.1%.
In the first half of the year, the most important new product for Qimei was the M6. The M6 was revealed to have cumulative deliveries exceeding 40,000 units within 97 days of its launch by the end of July, and by the end of August, it was revealed that cumulative deliveries had exceeded 45,000 units within four months of its launch. The all-new M9 and other models are also being delivered, but the total sales volume of Seres in August was still around 20,000 units, indicating that Qimei's sales have not been significantly boosted by these new cars yet.
Looking at Chery's production and sales data, the August sales of the Zhiji were 8,561 units, a year-over-year increase of 404.2%. The retail delivery volume of the Zhiji V9 disclosed by Hongmeng Zhixing was 8,312 units, which was the main force for the month. For an MPV with a price approaching 500,000 yuan, this volume is not low.
Chery Automobile's production and sales data for August showed that the company produced 13,019 vehicles and sold 12,571 vehicles during the month. The cumulative production and sales from January to August reached 143,041 and 134,039 vehicles, respectively.
However, over an extended period, Zhi Neng's cumulative sales for the first eight months were 38,600 units, still a year-over-year decline of 22.6%. Whether Zhi Neng can recover its growth momentum depends on whether the V9's sales can be sustained and whether other models can keep pace.
The Jixiang G9, Zunxiang V800, and V680, which were launched in August, received a total of 8,500 pre-orders within 24 hours of their release. However, these pre-orders still need to be converted into deliveries. Moreover, the three models primarily target the market above 400,000 to 1 million yuan, and their impact on the average price and brand positioning is more direct than their effect on boosting sales volume.
Hongmeng Zhihang needs to boost overall sales, which still requires asking Qiuji to restore growth, Zhijie to maintain its current scale, and let Shangjie and other brands continue to contribute to sales.
Based on cumulative deliveries of roughly 328,000 vehicles in the first eight months, hitting even the lower end of the 1 million target set at the start of the year would require average monthly deliveries of about 168,000 over the remaining four months — nearly four times August's figure. Compared with meeting the annual goal, the more pressing challenge is getting monthly deliveries back above 50,000.
Xpeng held at 40,000, Li Auto rebounded
Xpeng ranked third and Li Auto ranked fourth, with a difference of only 1,428 vehicles, but their performance in August was different, with one experiencing a small increase and the other rebounding from a low point.
Xpeng's sales rose from 38,027 units in July to 39,107 units, up 2.8% month-over-month and 4% year-over-year, marking the second consecutive month with sales near 40,000 units. Li Auto's sales increased from 30,468 units to 37,679 units, up 23.7% month-over-month and 32.1% year-over-year, surpassing NIO once again.
In August, XPeng GX delivered 7,338 units, achieving consecutive month-over-month growth for three months. The MONA L03 entered its first full delivery month, and the G9L also started pre-sales on August 11.
However, XPeng's total deliveries in August only increased by 1,080 vehicles from July. The new car has contributed to sales, but its incremental increase was partially offset by fluctuations in other models.
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In the second quarter, XPeng's delivery volume only grew 0.1% year-over-year, with the automotive business gross margin declining from 14.3% to 12.1%, and the net loss expanding from 480 million yuan in the same period last year to 1.34 billion yuan. The L03 needs to first boost sales and stabilize its market position, while higher-priced models like the G9 and G9L will be tasked with improving the product structure and automotive gross margin. Only by accomplishing both tasks can the company's operations see a significant improvement.
After completing this round of product upgrades, Li Xiang's sales began to recover, rebounding to 37,000 units in August.
The new-generation L6, which was launched in mid-July, saw its first full month of deliveries in August; the L9, L8, and L6, the three main extended-range models, have also completed their upgrades. Meanwhile, the headlamp supply issue that affected i6 production in July has been resolved.
In terms of monthly trends, Li Auto's sales have been declining for four consecutive months since March, falling to just over 30,000 units in July. August saw the first month-on-month increase in five months, but delivery volume was still lower than in March.
Profit recovery will be slower. Ideal's second-quarter deliveries fell 11.5% year-over-year, revenue dropped 15.1%, and vehicle gross margin declined to 9.4% from 19.4% in the same period last year, resulting in a net loss of 1.7 billion yuan for the quarter. The new L9 and other high-priced models helped to boost the vehicle gross margin from the first quarter, but it still lags far behind last year's level.
The delivery guidance for the third quarter is no longer a major concern. With cumulative deliveries of 68,147 vehicles in July and August, only around 27,000 to 32,000 vehicles need to be delivered in September to meet the guidance of 95,000 to 100,000 vehicles. What's more worth noting is whether the rebound in August can become a stable level of around 40,000 vehicles.
This generation upgrade first resolves the short-term volume shortfall in extended-range models, while pure electric products still rely mainly on the i6. After the new MEGA and i9 launch, Li Auto will need multiple pure electric models to contribute sales collectively while improving its product mix. Whether pure electric volume and gross margin can keep pace will depend on the coming quarters.
NIO's internal dynamics are experiencing a game of musical chairs, while Xiaomi awaits a boost from its upcoming offerings.
NIO delivered 35,836 vehicles, while Xiaomi continued to deliver over 30,000 vehicles, with both companies maintaining a delivery level of over 30,000 vehicles, but neither did so easily.
NIO has been stuck at around 36,000 vehicles for two consecutive months. In June, NIO once delivered 40,000 vehicles, but then fell back to the level of around 36,000 vehicles per month in the second quarter.
By brand, after the new ES8 large five-seater version started deliveries in July, NIO's main brand continued to maintain deliveries of over 20,000 vehicles, with 21,174 vehicles delivered in August, an increase of 1,166 vehicles from July; EC6 (5,852 vehicles) also remained at around 5,800 vehicles; ALPINE, on the other hand, fell from 12,029 vehicles in May to 8,810 vehicles in August, marking a decline for three consecutive months.
NIO's high-end and compact car product lines have basically stabilized, with total volume unable to return to 40,000 units, mainly because the ES series, which bears the brunt of the company's scale, is still declining.
According to the latest financial report, NIO's loss in the second quarter narrowed significantly year-over-year, with the vehicle gross margin rising from 10.3% in the same period last year to 18.5%; the company's net loss for the quarter was 528 million yuan, with adjusted net profit of 26.1 million yuan.
The improvement this round came mainly from the main brand and higher-priced models. Going forward, the main brand needs to keep protecting gross margins, while Ledo has to restore growth and rebuild scale.
NIO expects to deliver 108,000 to 111,000 vehicles in the third quarter. With 71,770 vehicles delivered in July and August combined, delivering approximately 36,200 to 39,200 vehicles in September would be enough to meet the guidance, which is not particularly challenging. This guidance is close to the actual delivery of 107,700 vehicles in the second quarter, indicating that the company will maintain its current scale in the third quarter.
Xiaomi has delivered more than 30,000 vehicles for five consecutive months, but the monthly trend has not continued to rise.
In January, Xiaomi delivered 39,000 vehicles. Due to the impact of product switching, deliveries dropped to just over 20,000 in February and March; after the new generation SU7 was delivered, deliveries rebounded to 37,000 in April. Since then, monthly deliveries have fluctuated between 31,000 and 35,000 vehicles. In August, it was disclosed that deliveries exceeded 30,000, but it is currently unclear whether this represents a rebound from July.
So far this year, Xiaomi has held the line at a 30,000-unit monthly sales floor, but since the new-generation SU7 ramped up deliveries in April, the pairing of its two current models has yet to push monthly deliveries onto a higher plateau.
The full-year target and the current delivery speed are still far apart. According to the China Passenger Car Association's retail data, in the first 8 months of this year, Xiaomi delivered at least 246,300 vehicles. In comparison to the full-year delivery target of 550,000 vehicles, the remaining 4 months will require a monthly average of approximately 76,000 vehicles, nearly twice the highest monthly sales this year. If the SU7 and YU7 continue to maintain their second-quarter monthly average of around 35,000 vehicles, Xiaomi will still need to increase deliveries by approximately 41,000 vehicles per month to approach its full-year target.
Therefore, Pengcheng's task is clear: the N70 and N90 must open up new user markets through range extension and family SUVs, and quickly achieve large-scale delivery after launching in September.
In conclusion
In August, there were plenty of new cars and purchasing privileges, but most emerging automakers wanted to continue pushing up delivery volumes, which has become increasingly difficult.
From an industry-wide perspective, the trend of new energy replacing fuel-powered vehicles remains, but the overall growth rate of the car market has slowed down. Traditional car companies and new forces are simultaneously increasing their brands and models, resulting in more competitors in similar price ranges. New products and price cuts can still attract orders, but most of these are now a result of competing for existing market share between brands.
That pressure is already visible in the interim results. Discounts and purchase incentives have pulled down transaction prices at dealerships, while costs for some raw materials and components are rising. At the same time, new model development, multi-brand operations, and channel expansion are adding to expenses. Sales growth may not translate into better gross margins, and losses may not narrow in step.
So how can they break the deadlock? Investors who focus on new energy say that "Dingjiao One" actually has issues with product efficiency and profitability. Increasing the number of models can expand coverage, but may also lead to price and user overlap. Therefore, car companies not only need to make different products have clear divisions of labor and extend the stable sales cycle of their main models, but also need to share platforms and components, increase capacity utilization, control marketing and channel costs, and reduce expenditures in all stages from research and development to sales. When upstream costs fluctuate, supply chain management and product pricing must also keep up in a timely manner.
There are indeed opportunities in overseas markets, but progress varies greatly among companies. Some automakers have already achieved certain sales volumes abroad, while more companies are still testing the waters, seeking channels, and building teams. Adapting to local regulations, establishing sales and after-sales systems, and adjusting supply chains all require time and investment, making it difficult for overseas markets to immediately fill the gap left by the domestic market.
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AI can enhance intelligent driving and cabin experiences, and potentially increase research and development, production, and sales efficiency. The robotics business, however, requires a longer research and development and commercialization cycle, and will also increase investment. These investments will take time to translate into stable business, and before that, the main automotive business still needs to bear the tasks of sales and profitability.
Monthly delivery rankings only reflect the current position of automakers. Whether they can move beyond the plateau phase depends on their ability to generate profits from domestic operations, increase overseas sales, and successfully integrate AI investments into specific products that drive revenue.
The cover image is from the official Weibo account of XPeng Motors.