China’s new-energy vehicle startups have been rolling out their August delivery results, with Leapmotor (09863.HK) topping the charts for a second consecutive month above the 100,000-unit mark, holding a commanding lead over the competition. XPeng (09868.HK/XPEV.US), Li Auto (02015.HK/LI.US), NIO (09866.HK/NIO.US), Zeekr, and Xiaomi EV are locked in intense competition in the 30,000–40,000 unit range, revealing a clear tiered landscape.
Leapmotor delivered 103,129 vehicles globally in August, up 80.72% year over year, marking its sixth consecutive month of sequential growth. The company said that based on comparable recent terminal registration figures, Leapmotor now ranks among the top four global NEV passenger vehicle brands and the top three Chinese NEV passenger vehicle brands. Leapmotor emphasized that sustaining monthly sales above 100,000 units is not a short-term market windfall but rather the result of technology-driven product competitiveness: “Leapmotor remains committed to full-stack in-house R&D while advancing deep in-house manufacturing across the entire supply chain. We independently control 65% of vehicle costs, have built 18 component plants, and leverage our platform capabilities to deliver above-class configurations across the entire product lineup.” Additionally, Leapmotor will hold its 2026 annual technology conference on September 16, where it will unveil its latest advances in world-model assisted driving and electric powertrain technology.
XPeng delivered 39,107 vehicles in August, up 3.71% year over year, marking its third consecutive month of year-over-year growth and a clear short-term recovery trajectory. However, from a full-year perspective, the company remains in an adjustment cycle with eight consecutive months of year-over-year declines. On the core model front, the XPeng MONA M03 has held the title of best-selling pure electric sedan in the CNY 100,000–200,000 price range (approximately NT$470,000–940,000) for 23 consecutive months, with cumulative MONA series deliveries surpassing 310,000 units. The XPeng GX has delivered 21,501 units since its May 20 launch, including 7,338 units in August, achieving positive sequential growth for three straight months. The XPeng G9L, which debuted and opened for pre-sales on August 11, is the first model equipped with XPeng’s second-generation VLA system and will launch and begin deliveries in September. XPeng Chairman He Xiaopeng said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call that with the rollout of four new SUV models—the G9L, MONA L05, GX, and MONA L03—the company expects a significant sales boost in the fourth quarter, targeting monthly sales of 60,000 units.
Li Auto delivered 37,679 vehicles in August, up 32.07% year over year, posting its first simultaneous year-over-year and month-over-month increase in four months and rebounding to third place, reversing a two-month stretch at the bottom of the startup rankings. Li Auto Chairman and CEO Li Xiang said that in the first half of this year, Li Auto remained the top-selling Chinese brand in the NEV market for vehicles priced at CNY 200,000 (approximately NT$940,000) and above. On the product front, the next-generation Li Auto MEGA will officially launch on September 2; on September 3, Li Auto will hold a new product launch event in Dubai to formally commence sales in the Middle East market; and in mid-September, the all-electric flagship SUV Li Auto i9 will hit the market, completing the company’s pure electric product matrix. On the software side, the Mach VLA intelligent driving system will be pushed to Thor and Orin-X platform users in September. Li Xiang laid out clear second-half targets on the earnings call: “With the successive launches of the next-generation Li Auto MEGA and the all-electric flagship SUV Li Auto i9, the company aims to enter the top three among all brands in China’s passenger vehicle market for vehicles priced at CNY 200,000 and above.”
NIO delivered 35,836 vehicles in August, up 14.47% year over year, roughly flat compared with the previous month. By brand, the NIO brand delivered 21,174 units, up 101.18% year over year, maintaining monthly deliveries above 20,000 units for four consecutive months. The Onvo brand remained under pressure, delivering 8,810 units and posting its first simultaneous year-over-year and month-over-month decline in five months. The Firefly brand delivered 5,852 units, up 34.65% year over year, achieving five consecutive months of year-over-year growth. In the first eight months of the year, NIO delivered a cumulative 262,893 vehicles, up 57.92% year over year, with the multi-brand matrix advancing in tandem—only Onvo’s short-term performance is dragging on overall growth.
Zeekr delivered 37,000 vehicles in August, setting another all-time high with 109.8% year-over-year growth and achieving seven consecutive months of simultaneous year-over-year and month-over-month increases. Cumulative deliveries from January through August reached 251,000 units, up 100.4% year over year. Zeekr said the Zeekr 9X has firmly held the top sales position across all vehicle categories priced above CNY 500,000 (approximately NT$2.4 million) this year; the Zeekr 009 has become the best-selling luxury MPV in multiple key markets including Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand; Zeekr shooting brake models have exceeded 10,000 monthly sales for three consecutive months, with cumulative deliveries surpassing 400,000 units; and global orders for the Zeekr 7X have surpassed 200,000 units.
Xiaomi EV delivered more than 30,000 vehicles in August, marking five consecutive months of monthly sales above 30,000 units since April. Xiaomi Group’s (01810.HK) semi-annual report shows that Xiaomi EV delivered 104,200 units in the second quarter, up 28.2% year over year, and 80,900 units in the first quarter, up 6.6% year over year. Xiaomi EV’s cumulative deliveries from January through August exceeded 245,000 units, and the company is making full preparations for the launch and delivery of the Xiaomi Pengcheng, which will officially go on sale in September.
Among other brands, Harmony Intelligent Mobility delivered 42,101 units in August, with year-to-date cumulative deliveries up 10.8% year over year and total cumulative deliveries across all series surpassing 1.52 million units. Deepal, a brand under Chinese automaker Changan Automobile (000625.SZ), posted global sales of 28,700 units in August, up 1.5% year over year but down 1.9% month over month. Cumulative sales from January through August reached 222,000 units, up 11.77% year over year, including overseas cumulative sales of 52,600 units, up 76.98% year over year. Huajing Auto, the premium smart vehicle brand under SAIC-GM-Wuling, delivered 7,306 units in August, marking four consecutive months of steady growth since the launch of its first model, the Huajing S, in May. Monthly deliveries from May through August were 3,603, 5,689, 7,203, and 7,306 units, respectively.
August Delivery Figures for Major Startups
| Brand | August Deliveries (Units) | YoY Growth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leapmotor | 103,129 | +80.72% | Second consecutive month above 100,000 |
| Harmony Intelligent Mobility | 42,101 | YTD cumulative +10.8% | Total cumulative exceeds 1.52 million |
| XPeng | 39,107 | +3.71% | Third consecutive month of YoY growth |
| Li Auto | 37,679 | +32.07% | First simultaneous YoY and MoM increase in 4 months |
| Zeekr | 37,000 | +109.8% | Seven consecutive months of YoY and MoM growth |
| NIO | 35,836 | +14.47% | NIO brand up 101.18% YoY |
| Xiaomi EV | Over 30,000 | — | Five consecutive months above 30,000 |
| Deepal | 28,700 | +1.5% | Down 1.9% MoM |
| Huajing Auto | 7,306 | — | Four consecutive months of steady growth |
Note: Figures compiled from official automaker disclosures. “—” indicates the automaker did not disclose the figure.
Cui Dongshu, head of the Passenger Vehicle Market Information Joint Conference under the China Automobile Dealers Association, believes the auto market in August was in a bottoming-out and recovery phase. As various consumption-stabilizing policies are gradually implemented and the base effect improves, the decline in the passenger vehicle market will steadily narrow, and the industry is formally entering a mature development stage driven by value and structural optimization, laying the groundwork for the traditional “Golden September, Silver October” peak season.
From an overall landscape perspective, tier differentiation among startups is becoming increasingly pronounced: Leapmotor has established a commanding lead with monthly volumes above 100,000 units, Harmony Intelligent Mobility sits in the second tier with over 40,000 units, while XPeng, Li Auto, Zeekr, NIO, and Xiaomi are fiercely competing in the 30,000–40,000 unit range. Notably, aside from Leapmotor and Zeekr, most brands’ year-to-date cumulative deliveries remain in a year-over-year decline or a period of slowing growth. With a dense slate of heavyweight new model launches in September—including the Li Auto MEGA, Li Auto i9, XPeng G9L, and Xiaomi Pengcheng—the market is closely watching whether startups can leverage the new product cycle to reverse their annual downtrend and regain growth momentum as the traditional peak season arrives.
