BYD (HKG:1211, SHE:002594) led June's new energy vehicle sales as demand for such vehicles continues to surge abroad, even as domestic expansion faces distinct retail headwinds.
BYD recorded the highest number of sales among Chinese NEV makers, selling 403,472 units during the month, up 5.46% from a year earlier. The carmaker's momentum was buoyed by its overseas performance, where passenger exports nearly doubled year over year to a record 174,897 units, offsetting a cool domestic retail market.
Meanwhile, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology (HKG:9863) and Nio (HKG:9866, SGX:NIO) recorded significant increases in their global deliveries, jumping 95% and 62.9% year over year, respectively, to deliver 93,376 units and 40,597 units.
Leapmotor's numbers were boosted by its extended-range hybrid lineup, while Nio's deliveries were split across its luxury brand and its emerging sub-brands.
SAIC Motor (SHA:600104) maintained strong overall volume, with group-wide sales reaching 395,000 units in June, up 8.1% from the previous year. Sales were boosted by electrification across the company's portfolio. Monthly NEV-specific sales 66.6% year over year to hit 201,000 units.
Meanwhile, Geely Automobile's (HKG:0175) NEV sales climbed 2% year on year to 240,799 units, while those of Chery Automobile (HKG:9973) rose 9.5% to 240,585 units.
Meanwhile, XPeng (HKG:9868) sold 40,126 vehicles during the month, bringing deliveries in the second quarter to 103,295 units. The carmaker plans to launch and presale a new model, XPENG MONA L03, on Thursday.
Li Auto (HKG:2015) delivered 30,895 NEVs in the same month, bringing 1.7 million units into sale as of the end of June. The automaker said it surpassed 150,000 units in cumulative production after introducing a new flagship SUV, Li L8, on June 23.
The number in NEV exports rose, but analysts from S&P Global said it is not enough to lift the slumping domestic demand.
On a June 15 note, the ratings firm predicted NEV domestic sales to drop by 7% year on year to 25.4 million units in June as demand slowed down due to a reduction in trade-in and NEV purchase tax incentives.
"While mainland China automakers have been praised for their speed to market and ability to rapidly update products and technology, this frenetic cycle has a downside," S&P Global said. "The pace of model updates from mainland OEMs is causing some consumers to delay purchases, waiting for better deals both technologically and financially."
