Xiaomi delivers report automobiles in March as winners emerge in China EV race

Chinese language electrical carmakers Xiaomi, Xpeng and Leapmotor every delivered practically 30,000 or extra automobiles in March, roughly twice a number of of their fellow startup opponents.

It is a signal of how some automakers are pulling forward, whereas BYD stays the market chief by far.

Xiaomi delivered a report variety of electrical automobiles in March, exceeding 29,000 items, the corporate introduced on social media. That topped its prior run of delivering greater than 20,000 automobiles in every of the previous 5 months.

The SU7, Xiaomi’s flagship mannequin, was concerned in a crash on a freeway on Tuesday that left three lifeless. The automaker on Tuesday afternoon launched a press release on Chinese language social media that the automobile was in navigation on autopilot mode earlier than the accident.

Primarily based on preliminary data, the street was obstructed due to building. The motive force took management of the automobile however collided with building infrastructure. Xiaomi added within the launch that investigations have been underway.

That got here two weeks after the automaker introduced on March 18 its purpose to ship 350,000 automobiles this 12 months. There are additionally talks of the automaker increasing its second EV manufacturing unit in Beijing to satisfy demand, Bloomberg reported on March 18. Xiaomi didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s request for remark.

Its competitor Xpeng in March delivered 33,205 automobiles, the fifth consecutive month it has delivered over 30,000 items monthly and reflecting a 268% surge in deliveries from the identical month final 12 months. March can also be the fifth consecutive month the corporate has delivered over 15,000 items of the Mona M03.

Leapmotor delivered 37,095 automobiles, reflecting a 154% year-over-year development. The Stellantis-owned automaker final month launched U.Okay. gross sales of two electrical automobile fashions, the T03 and the C10.

Li Auto delivered 36,674 automobiles in March, a 26.5% year-over-year enhance, however fewer than each month within the second half of 2024. The corporate’s automobiles had gained early traction with Chinese language customers since most include a gas tank for charging the automobile’s battery, lowering anxiousness about driving vary.

BYD bought 371,419 passenger automobiles in March, reflecting a year-over-year development of 57.9%. Its abroad gross sales quantity additionally hit a report excessive of 72,723 items in March.

In the identical month, the automaker unveiled its “Tremendous e-Platform” know-how, which boasts 400 kilometers (roughly 249 miles) of vary with 5 minutes of charging. The corporate in February additionally introduced that it was integrating DeepSeek synthetic intelligence to develop “DiPilot,” its superior driver-assistance system.

Throughout the board, main corporations throughout China’s electrical automobile business reported deliveries rose final month, indicating a pick-up in demand from the seasonally delicate first two months of the 12 months.

U.S. automaker Tesla bought 78,828 electrical automobiles in China in March, marking a 11.5% year-over-year decline in development.

Different Chinese language carmakers noticed development in deliveries however some nonetheless struggled to interrupt by means of the 20,000-unit mark.  

Nio delivered 15,039 automobiles, a 26.7% year-over-year development, however effectively under the variety of automobiles delivered within the months of Might to December final 12 months. Nio-owned Onvo, which markets its electrical automobiles as family-oriented, in March recorded 15,039 items in deliveries.

Geely-owned Zeekr delivered 15,422 automobiles in March, growing by 18.5% 12 months over 12 months. The corporate final month introduced its rollout of free superior driver-assistance know-how to native prospects in a bid to compete available in the market.

Aito, as of April 2, has not revealed its supply numbers for March. The automaker, which makes use of Huawei tech in its automobiles, on social media had reported month-to-month deliveries of 34,987 and 21,517 in January and February, respectively.

On a first-quarter foundation, BYD remained within the lead with 986,098 automobiles bought. The automaker, which overtook Tesla in annual gross sales final 12 months, surpassed the U.S. EV big in battery electrical automobiles gross sales this quarter.

Tesla bought 172,754 automobiles in China within the first quarter this 12 months, in keeping with month-to-month supply numbers revealed by the China Passenger Automotive Affiliation.

Xpeng additionally reported robust development, with a complete of 94,008 automobiles delivered within the quarter ending in March, reflecting a 331% year-over-year development.

Leapmotor noticed quarterly deliveries greater than double to 87,552 items from 33,410 items the identical interval in 2024, in keeping with publicly out there numbers the corporate revealed.

Nevertheless, Li Auto and Nio reported weaker development than their opponents within the first quarter of the 12 months.

Nio noticed 42,094 automobiles delivered within the three months ended March 2025, a rise of 40.1% 12 months over 12 months. Li Auto noticed a slower year-over-year development of 15.5%, with a complete of 92,864 automobiles delivered.