Neue Kraft in der Automobilbranche im Juli: Neusortierung! Leapmotor erreicht 50.000 Fahrzeuge und führt die Rangliste an, Xiaomi übersteigt 30.000 Fahrzeuge, Li Auto fällt aus den Top drei.
On August 1st, the first monthly sales list of automakers in the second half of 2025 was unveiled as scheduled. Among them, the ranking of new - energy vehicle startups was reshuffled again.
In terms of single - brand sales, the top three in the July delivery list are Leapmotor (50,129 units), Wenjie (40,753 units), and XPeng (36,717 units). Among them, Leapmotor's monthly sales exceeded 50,000 units for the first time. Wenjie delivered over 40,000 units across its entire lineup, contributing more than 80% of the sales of Hongmeng Smart Mobility (47,752 units). XPeng achieved a record high. The previously stable pattern of the "top three extended - range startups (Leapmotor, Wenjie, and Li Auto)" was broken.
The competition in the second tier is even more brutal. Li Auto (30,731 units), Xiaomi (＞30,000 units), and NIO (21,017 units) ranked fourth to sixth respectively. This is the first time Li Auto has fallen out of the top three among new - energy vehicle startups this year. It is also the first time Xiaomi's monthly sales have reached 30,000 units. NIO's overall sales did not continue to grow, but the aggressive pricing of the LeDao L90 caused the company's Hong Kong - listed stock price to rise by 27% in the past month, making it the new - energy vehicle startup with the largest stock price increase in July.
In addition to new - energy vehicle startups, domestic self - owned brands cannot be ignored. The pattern of the "top three domestic brands" has also changed. BYD (delivered 344,000 units in July) still leads. Its new - energy vehicle sales in the first seven months reached 2.49 million units. Geely (delivered 238,000 units in July) followed closely, with 1.65 million units sold in the first seven months. Chery (delivered 244,000 units in July) became the new member of the top three, with 1.48 million units sold in the first seven months, of which overseas sales accounted for more than 46%. The competition among the top three domestic brands is not only about who sells more cars but also a comprehensive competition in technology and global layout.
Now let's look at the new - energy vehicle startups incubated by traditional automakers. Deepal delivered over 27,000 units in July, continuing to lead Aion (26,557 units) and becoming the sales champion in this segment. Among the "10,000 - unit club", the most notable is ZEEKR (16,977 units), which reversed the downward trend of both month - on - month and year - on - year sales last month. Fangchengbao (14,180 units), Denza (11,375 units) under BYD, as well as VOYAH (12,135 units), Avatr (10,062 units), and Wei brand (10,045 units) all exceeded the "10,000 - unit monthly sales" threshold.
Normally, after the sales rush in June, July is a traditional off - season, and automakers should "take a break". However, in today's new - energy vehicle market, no one can afford to be careless. Any development may cause stock price fluctuations or even a chain reaction. For example, in the past month, although Xiaomi Auto attracted high attention due to the release of the YU7, its stock price fell by 11%, reflecting the market's concerns about its production capacity bottleneck. Another example is that Wenjie (Seres) fell by 6%, and Li Auto (H - shares) fell by 3%, indicating that even leading players will not be spared by the capital market if they perform "below expectations".
Next, with the release and concentrated delivery of more new cars, it is not impossible for the pattern of new - energy vehicle startups to change further.
The new top three pattern: Leapmotor, Wenjie, and XPeng
Judging from the July sales of new - energy vehicle startups, Leapmotor, Wenjie, and XPeng firmly occupy the first tier, and the sales gap between these three and the second tier continues to widen.
As the sales champion among new - energy vehicle startups, Leapmotor's sales have been steadily increasing this year. In July, its sales exceeded 50,000 units for the first time.
"Leapmotor doesn't have a strong brand image and its marketing is low - key, but it has 'established a foothold' in the mid - to - low - end market," said Li Sheng, an analyst in the automotive industry. In the past month, Leapmotor's stock price also rose with the release of its weekly sales data, with a cumulative increase of 11%.
He mentioned that the market's evaluation of Leapmotor is that it has relatively strong risk - resistance ability among new - energy vehicle startups. Its greatest advantages are cost - control ability, overseas layout (especially in markets with high acceptance of new - energy vehicles such as Europe), and a relatively balanced sales structure.
According to a research report by Zhongtai Auto, Leapmotor's sales are "distributed" among multiple models such as the C10 EV, C16 EREV, C16 EV, and T03.
The B01, which is scheduled to start delivery in August, is highly anticipated. The above - mentioned research report predicts that if the B01 performs better than expected, Leapmotor's domestic sales are expected to approach 600,000 units. Coupled with the expected 60,000 units in overseas markets, its overall sales will exceed 600,000 units. However, whether the B01 can really become Leapmotor's next hit model remains to be verified by the market.
Wenjie, ranked second, delivered a total of 40,753 units across its entire lineup in July, accounting for 85% of Hongmeng Smart Mobility (47,752 units). As of press time, Zhijie and Xiangjie have not announced their July delivery volumes.
Judging from the weekly sales data, Wenjie has been the "sales champion" among new - energy vehicle startups for several consecutive weeks since July. However, Seres' stock price fell by 6% in the past month. Zhang Yu, an investor who follows the new - energy vehicle market, said that the reason behind this is not only the market's concern about its "sales being concentrated on a few hit models". A deeper reason may be related to Seres' upcoming listing in Hong Kong, which has caused its A - share stock price to enter a "dormant period" before the official listing.
Wenjie did not announce the sales of specific models this time. From last month's situation, the M8 and M9 together sold 35,000 units, higher than the combined monthly sales of the Mercedes - Benz GLC, BMW X5, and Audi Q5L, indicating that Wenjie has established a foothold in the mid - to - high - end SUV market.
Hongmeng Smart Mobility's delivery volume in July was 47,752 units, a 9% month - on - month decrease. Zhang Yu concluded through analyzing the sales trends of the Zhijie R7 and Wenjie M8 that "there is also competition among models within the Hongmeng system".
Image source / Orient Futures Derivatives Research Institute
In July, there was a landmark event for Hongmeng Smart Mobility: the Xiangjie brand, which is a cooperation between Huawei and BAIC, became independent and held its first independent event. Yu Chengdong changed from the main protagonist to a "guest star". This may indicate that Huawei is starting to delegate power, and the partner automakers are increasing their efforts. Judging from the user profile of the Xiangjie S9, Xiangjie is no longer obsessed with the business - administrative style but has shifted to the family - leisure style. Will the adjustment of the market strategy bring about changes in sales? It is worth paying attention to.
Next, Hongmeng Smart Mobility will launch a series of new models. Three new models have been confirmed for August: the Xiangjie S9T, the pure - electric version of the Wenjie M8, and the new Shangjie H5. In addition, the major - facelifted Wenjie M7 is expected to be released around the National Day in September. In addition to the above four models, there may be four more new models in the future, which are expected to be launched in the Shangjie, Zhijie, and Zunjie series. Whether this intensive new - model offensive can solve the situation of "no hit model after Wenjie" has attracted particular attention from the outside world.
XPeng delivered 37,000 units in July, rising from fourth place last month to third place.
This result is indeed eye - catching when viewed in the context of XPeng's sales curve this year, which is attributed to the launch of new models. In the past two months, XPeng has successively launched two new models, the M03 Max and the G7.
Among them, the M03 Max has introduced high - level intelligent driving functions to models priced at 130,000 yuan. "In the future, the monthly sales of the MONA M03 are expected to remain at 10,000 units, and the monthly sales of the G7 are expected to reach 5,000 to 6,000 units," revealed Fang Xu, a person in the sales channel. Currently, nearly half of XPeng's sales come from the most affordable M03 series, followed by the P7+, which accounts for about 20%. After successive facelifts, the sales of the X9 and G9 have also increased.
However, XPeng's current biggest "headache" is not the sales volume itself, but the increasing difficulty in moving towards the mid - to - high - end market. After the launch of the Xiaomi YU7 at the end of June, the main sales version of the G7, which was originally tasked with "breaking into the mid - to - high - end market" for XPeng, was priced below 200,000 yuan, causing XPeng's Hong Kong - listed stock price to fall by 7% in five trading days.
Fang Xu said that the new models still haven't broken out of XPeng's long - standing price range of 100,000 - 200,000 yuan, indicating that the brand is facing greater challenges than expected in expanding into the higher - premium market. The feedback he received from the sales channel is that some consumers have low price expectations for the XPeng brand. "The market is worried that when more and more consumers think of XPeng as an economy - class car, it will be difficult for the brand to increase its premium."
A research report by Soochow Securities shows that XPeng's user profile can be divided into two different groups. The first group is the MONA owners: they first look at the appearance and then at intelligent driving. The second group is the owners of the XPeng G/P/X series: they first look at cost - effectiveness and then at intelligent driving. How to balance the needs of different user groups and find the best combination between cost - effectiveness and brand up - grading is a question that XPeng needs to continuously consider.
2025 is a big year for XPeng's new product launches. There will be a large extended - range SUV in Q4, which may be another key opportunity for XPeng to break into the market above 200,000 yuan. It remains to be seen whether it can seize this opportunity.
The second tier: Li Auto bets on pure - electric vehicles, Xiaomi disrupts the pattern, and NIO's LeDao takes the lead
For new - energy vehicle startups in the second tier, the key is how to seize the opportunity to catch up: Li Auto needs to be more aggressive in its strategy; Xiaomi needs to solve the production - capacity problem; and NIO needs to make its multi - brand strategy yield results on the balance sheet as soon as possible.
As an established player in the extended - range vehicle segment, Li Auto delivered 30,731 new vehicles in July. This result temporarily placed it in fourth place, relegating it to the "second tier".
Looking back at Li Auto's delivery volume this year, it can be seen that after reaching a peak in June, there was a significant decline in July, with both month - on - month and year - on - year decreases. This reflects to some extent the intensifying market competition and the impact of its own product - strategy adjustment.
The reason is not hard to understand. With the strong entry of new models such as the Xiaomi YU7 and the facelifted Wenjie M7, there are more players in the market, and the competition has become extremely fierce.
Before the launch of the i8, the market had high expectations for this new model from Li Auto. Some potential consumers may have waited on the sidelines with cash in hand, which to some extent suppressed the sales of existing models in July. In addition, after the sales rush of existing models such as the Li L6 in June, it is natural for the sales to decline in July, which is in line with market rules.
The decline in Li Auto's July sales is the result of multiple factors. The Li i8, as one of the company's key layouts in the pure - electric vehicle market, bears its hope of expanding market share. Judging from the current market feedback, the i8 has many highlights in terms of product features, such as intelligence, comfort, and range, and has received a lot of positive reviews. However, the i8 also faces significant challenges.
Firstly, it is the pricing strategy. Although Li Auto has always adhered to the principle of "not engaging in price wars", when more and more players enter the extended - range vehicle market and even launch more cost - effective pure - electric products, Li Auto's advantages will be diluted. In this case, whether the pricing of the i8 can be widely accepted is a major test.
This also explains why Li Auto's (H - shares) stock price fell after the price of the i8 was announced. In the current highly sensitive market environment, every product launch and price adjustment by automakers may affect the stock price. Zhang Yu believes that whether the i8 and i6 can drive Li Auto back onto the growth track will be the highlight this year. And how to highlight the value of "high - quality" while avoiding getting involved in price wars and how to manage the expectations of the target group are questions that Li Auto needs to consider.
Xiaomi Auto delivered "over 30,000 units" in July, stably ranking fifth among new - energy vehicle startups. It is believed that all new - energy vehicle startups have felt the pressure from this cross - industry entrant.
In the past month, Xiaomi Auto under the leadership of Lei Jun has demonstrated its strong ability to attract fans, and the outside world is very curious about its user profile.
A research report by Soochow Securities shows that Xiaomi SU7 owners "first look at the appearance and then at other features"; regarding intelligent driving, they believe that "it can be not used but must be available", and "although Xiaomi's current experience is not the best, they believe that Xiaomi will most likely catch up in the future". This shows that Xiaomi's users have high loyalty and expectations for the brand, which is an important reason for the rapid rise of Xiaomi Auto.
How to convert this into continuous "purchases" and continuously improve the user experience of core technologies such as intelligent driving are the key points that Xiaomi needs to focus on.
The "200,000 - 400,000 - yuan SUV market" that the Xiaomi YU7 is targeting is a more promising but also highly competitive segment. According to the analysis of Guosen Securities, the market size has increased from 2.55 million units in 2020 to nearly