The 10-year ups and downs of new car-making forces: not only competing for superiority but also deciding life and death
In 2025, Leapmotor became the "champion" in terms of annual sales among new car - making forces with nearly 600,000 vehicles sold. However, Nezha Automobile, once a high - flying brand, officially ended up on the auction block, waiting to be picked. These two new car - making enterprises, which started around the same time and both focused on cost - effective products, followed completely different trajectories over the decade. One reached the peak, while the other faded away in obscurity.
This is just a microcosm of the changing landscape of new - force enterprises in the Chinese automotive industry. Since 2015, the "inaugural year" of new car - making forces, numerous companies have made it onto the list of top brands, but their stints were short - lived. At that time, there were more than 60 new car - making enterprises. However, after a decade, only a handful of non - traditional large - scale manufacturers' new car - making enterprises are still reporting sales. In 2025, ranked by sales volume, the list of new car - making enterprises is as follows: Leapmotor, Hongmeng Smart Mobility, XPeng, Li Auto, Xiaomi, and NIO.
The Rise of "Dark Horses"
"Wei Xiaoli" (NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng) were the pioneers among new car - making forces and once occupied the spotlight in public opinion. However, over the past 10 years, the focus of attention has gradually shifted. By 2025, "dark horses" such as Leapmotor, Hongmeng Smart Mobility, and Xiaomi have attracted more and more attention.
Leapmotor sold 597,000 vehicles in 2025, a year - on - year increase of 103%, and topped the sales "championship" for the first time. This company, which made a cross - border entry from the security industry, was not favored in the early stage. When Leapmotor launched its first electric coupe model in 2019, the market showed little interest. Subsequently, Leapmotor changed its strategy, targeted the mainstream mass market, launched the micro - car T03 to break into the market, and later introduced models such as the C11. It also added range - extended hybrid models. With the cost - effectiveness advantage of being "half the price of Li Auto", its sales continued to climb.
Meanwhile, Leapmotor received investment and established a strategic partnership with Stellantis, which strengthened its brand endorsement. In 2025, with the cooperation of the Stellantis Group, Leapmotor launched new products overseas, accelerating its overseas expansion. In addition, Leapmotor reached a strategic partnership with FAW Group and received an investment from the latter. However, while increasing sales volume, how to enhance brand image has become a challenge for Leapmotor.
Although Hongmeng Smart Mobility is not strictly a new car - making force, the rapid rise in sales of its various "Jie" series, especially the AITO series, has had a direct impact on the overall market. The popularity of the AITO series demonstrates the market appeal of Huawei's intelligent technology.
Hongmeng Smart Mobility (formerly Huawei's Smart - selected Cars) started in 2021 when Huawei collaborated with Seres to launch the AITO brand. Initially, the AITO M5 received a lukewarm response. After the launch of the AITO M7 in 2022, sales soared, especially after the release of the new M7 in 2023, when sales continued to rise. Subsequently, Hongmeng Smart Mobility formed a brand matrix of five brands, including AITO, Zhijie, Xiangjie, and Zunjie. In 2024, Hongmeng Smart Mobility sold 445,000 vehicles, ranking second among new - force brands, only after Li Auto. In 2025, the cumulative annual delivery of all brands under Hongmeng Smart Mobility reached 589,000 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 32%.
Currently, Huawei's cooperation and penetration in the automotive field are deepening, and the competitiveness of its ecological system has attracted much attention. However, Hongmeng Smart Mobility still relies heavily on the AITO brand. In 2025, the AITO brand delivered 420,000 vehicles, accounting for 71%. In addition, the issue of product homogenization caused by Huawei's extensive cooperation has also raised concerns within the industry.
In terms of growth speed, Xiaomi Auto is undoubtedly the biggest "dark horse". Xiaomi officially announced its entry into the automotive industry in 2021 and started deliveries in 2024, entering the market relatively late. However, in its first year of delivery, Xiaomi sold 120,000 vehicles. In 2025, it sold 412,000 vehicles, exceeding its annual target of 350,000 vehicles and ranking fifth among new - force enterprises, surpassing NIO, which has been in the industry for a decade.
However, since its delivery, Xiaomi Auto has been plagued by negative news, including multiple accidents resulting in casualties, accusations of unreasonable design in many aspects, and "fine - print marketing" being accused of false advertising. These issues reflect the pressure and challenges faced by this "newcomer" in the cross - border automotive industry.
The Differentiation of "Wei Xiaoli"
The three "veterans" of the new - force enterprises, "Wei Xiaoli", basically started their operations in 2015. Before 2021, "Wei Xiaoli" always occupied the top three positions. However, since then, competition has intensified. Their sales performance and rankings have been unstable, and their development paths have also diverged.
Before 2021, NIO always led in terms of delivery volume. However, it was surpassed by XPeng in 2021, and its ranking has continued to decline since then. In 2025, it ranked at the bottom among new - force brands. NIO has always been a prominent brand in the industry. It encountered a financial crisis from 2019 to 2020 and was bailed out by an investment from the local government of Hefei. However, its sales were severely affected. To break through the limitations of its high - end positioning in terms of growth, NIO has successively launched two new brands, LeDao and YingHuoChong.
In 2025, NIO sold 326,000 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 47%. Among them, the NIO brand delivered 240,000 vehicles throughout the year, the LeDao brand delivered a cumulative total of 130,000 vehicles, and the YingHuoChong brand delivered approximately 40,000 vehicles. In addition, NIO launched the new ES8 in 2025 and significantly reduced its price to enhance its market competitiveness. With the launch of the LeDao L90 and the new ES8, NIO showed significant growth in the fourth quarter. Although it did not achieve its annual target of 440,000 vehicles, Li Bin, the founder of NIO, said at the ceremony for the offline of the 1 millionth vehicle that he was confident of achieving profitability in the fourth quarter.
XPeng Motors led the "Wei Xiaoli" group again in 2025, selling 429,000 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 126%, and exceeding its annual target of 380,000 vehicles. XPeng Motors started with the XPeng G3. With its "intelligent" brand image, it once topped the sales "championship" in 2021 but has not regained that position since then. In 2023, XPeng's monthly sales continuously declined to a few thousand vehicles, and its stock price plummeted. This is mainly attributed to issues such as unclear product positioning within the company. At its lowest point, XPeng appointed Wang Fengying, the former vice - president of Great Wall Motors, as the president of XPeng Motors and carried out reforms in product planning, product portfolio management, and the sales system. At the same time, the low - cost model MONA03 developed in cooperation with Didi and the new P7+ were launched, and sales began to recover. However, XPeng still has the problem of over - relying on low - cost products for sales.
Li Auto experienced a decline in sales in 2025 and lost the "championship" in sales among new - force brands that it had held for three consecutive years. In 2025, Li Auto delivered a cumulative total of 405,900 vehicles, a year - on - year decline of 19.6%, and failed to meet its annual sales target of 640,000 vehicles.
When Li Auto was first established, it developed the small, low - speed electric vehicle SEV and range - extended SUVs. In 2018, it abandoned the SEV project and fully committed to the range - extended intelligent SUV, the Li ONE. Although there were disputes within the industry about range - extended electric vehicles at that time, the Li ONE proved its market success with its sales. In 2022, Li Auto won the sales "championship" for the first time with a single model. Subsequently, with the launch of the Li L series, it maintained the "championship" position in 2024. However, the sales of the first pure - electric model, the MEGA, launched by Li Auto in 2024 and the pure - electric i6 launched in 2025 did not meet expectations. Meanwhile, with more players entering the range - extended hybrid market, competition has intensified, putting pressure on Li Auto's overall sales growth.
Although "Wei Xiaoli" have remained in the game for a decade, each faces its own development challenges. How to withstand the impact of cross - border "dark horses" such as Huawei and Xiaomi and the "second - generation new - force" brands backed by traditional large manufacturers and regain market dominance is a common test for them. For example, the Deepal brand launched by Changan Automobile sold 333,000 vehicles in 2025, surpassing NIO; the Zeekr brand under Geely sold more than 220,000 vehicles, showing strong momentum.
The Disappeared "Heroes of Yesterday"
From more than 60 to only a few surviving, many "heroes of yesterday" among the new - force enterprises have disappeared. These fallen enterprises can be roughly divided into three categories.
Firstly, "opportunists" failed before mass production. In the early days of the new energy vehicle industry, the policy lacked a strict approval mechanism. The frenzy of capital and preferential policies from local governments attracted many projects to rush into development. Many "PPT companies" took advantage of the situation but collapsed when facing the test of mass production and delivery, such as Youxia, SAILLING, and LeEco. Today, Youxia and SAILLING have vanished, and Jia Yueting of LeEco Automobile has gone to the United States to continue developing electric vehicles, with the real situation unknown. Bordrin and GreenWheel have never had mass - produced models on the market. Even some brands that reached the mass - production stage could not withstand market tests due to insufficient subsequent investment. For example, brands such as Yundu, Aiways, and Singulato, established from 2015 to 2017, disappeared after a brief appearance on the market.
Secondly, strategic mistakes led to the decline of some enterprises, such as WM Motor and Nezha Automobile. Hozon New Energy, the parent company of Nezha, was established in 2014. With a low - price strategy targeting the sinking market, it achieved good results in the early stage and won the sales "championship" among new - force brands in 2022. However, Nezha Automobile blindly tried to break into the mid - to - high - end market. Due to insufficient technological reserves, the market did not respond positively, and its financial performance was affected, leading to debt problems. WM Motor was established in 2015. It seized the market opportunity in the early stage when there were few products in the market and ranked second in sales among new - force brands in 2019. However, due to unclear brand and technological positioning and its heavy - asset model of insisting on building its own factories, WM Motor continued to decline as competition intensified.
Thirdly, difficulties in financing led to the rupture of the capital chain. New car - making enterprises generally have a huge demand for capital, and the automotive manufacturing industry consumes capital at a rapid pace. Once financing encounters problems, it will be a fatal blow to the enterprise's operation. For example, HiPhi, established in 2019 and targeting the high - end market, stopped production in February 2024 and later went bankrupt due to the non - implementation of an investment agreement with Saudi Arabia. Byton, a previously highly - regarded brand, also ended in failure due to a broken capital chain. In addition, many new car - making enterprises have been exposed to problems such as a chaotic internal management system and wasteful spending.
After a decade of intense competition, not many enterprises in the new energy vehicle industry remain in the game. The next decade will be a period with a more complex market environment, putting greater tests on the systematic competitiveness of each new - force enterprise. As Li Bin said in a recent internal letter to all employees, only enterprises with industry - leading operational efficiency can survive the fierce survival battle. Therefore, NIO will continue to deepen organizational reforms, strengthen the business awareness and cost - control ability of all employees, and ensure that every penny is spent wisely.
It is worth noting that in the new round of elimination in the new energy vehicle industry, some new brands are still joining. For example, Dreame, a company that produces household appliances such as hair dryers and vacuum cleaners, announced its entry into the automotive industry in 2025 and started cross - border car - making.
In addition, some brands that were previously out of the game showed signs of revival in 2025. In April 2025, the reorganization plan approved by the court showed that Xiangfei would take over four WM Motor companies and promote the resumption of mass production. Xiangfei Automobile has an indirect connection with BAOYING Automobile. HiPhi announced that it had received a $1 billion investment from the Lebanese electric vehicle startup EV Electra Ltd., attracting attention. Nezha Automobile is still in the auction process, waiting for its savior. Whether these enterprises can return to the game is full of uncertainty.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Economic Observer". Author: Zhou Ju. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.