China’s leading e-automakers report sales growth of over 350% in January

China’s leading e-automakers report sales growth of over 350% in January

Beijing, 2.2.2021

Leading Chinese electric car brands saw staggering sales growth in January. All three leading manufacturers of new vehicles (NEV) on the mainland – Li Xiang, NIO and Xiaopeng – recorded sales growth of over 350 percent.

Experts said that such growth is encouraging as it shows that the domestic NEV market continues to experience high growth, but such growth is not fast enough to get companies‘ market valuations.

Beijing-based automaker Li Xiang announced it shipped 5,379 Li Xiang One electric SUVs in January, up 355.8 percent year over year. In total, the company delivered 38,976 Li Xiang One vehicles this calendar year.

The company also announced the establishment of a research and development center in Shanghai that will specialize in research into electric car technologies such as autonomous driving and next-generation intelligent cockpit technologies.

Domestic electric car brand NIO delivered 7,225 new cars in January, up 352.1 percent per year, and set new records for one-month deliveries for six consecutive months.

In comparison, XiaopengMotors delivered 6,015 cars in January, up from 5,700 deliveries in December and an annual growth of 470 percent.

Independent automotive analyst Feng Shiming said that in a general „incremental“ electric car market, these companies are still experiencing a period of rapid growth, but that growth is still not fast enough given their respective market valuations.

China has set a goal that sales of electric vehicles should account for about a fifth of the country’s total auto sales by 2025. To achieve this goal, the market for electric cars should grow at least 30 percent every year for the next five years. which, according to Feng, is not easy to achieve given the current speed of development.

„The electric car market still suffers from drawbacks, including false advertising and poor cold weather performance. Tesla’s rapid development in China has also squeezed space for domestic brands,“ Feng told the Global Times. He predicted that China’s electric car market could see double-digit growth this year.