New car startups' sales in June: AITO surpasses Li Auto, and Xiaomi ranks fifth.
On July 1st, new - energy vehicle startups routinely announced their delivery volumes for June, and the competitive landscape in the first half of 2025 has also been settled.
Let's first look at the landscape of new - energy vehicle startups without a background in traditional automakers: the top three in terms of delivery volume are Leapmotor (48,006 vehicles), AITO (44,685 vehicles), and Li Auto (36,279 vehicles). Among them, Leapmotor has won the monthly championship for four consecutive months, and AITO's monthly sales exceeded those of Li Auto for the first time this year.
XPeng (34,611 vehicles) and Xiaomi (over 25,000 vehicles) ranked fourth and fifth respectively. Both of these two companies are under great pressure: XPeng urgently needs to break through in the mid - to - high - end market; Xiaomi has maintained its market share with the SU7, but the 10% month - on - month decline in sales, combined with the extremely long delivery cycle of the YU7 (60 weeks for the standard version), has exposed production capacity issues.
In sixth place, NIO's three brands (NIO + LeDao + Firefly) jointly delivered 24,925 vehicles. Although LeDao and Firefly achieved new highs, their sales of 6,400 and 3,932 vehicles respectively still fell short of external expectations.
Next, let's take a look at the new - energy vehicle startups incubated by traditional automakers: Deepal (29,893 vehicles), Aion (27,848 vehicles), and Zeekr (16,702 vehicles) ranked in the top three; ARCFOX (10,352 vehicles), Avatr (10,153 vehicles), Voyah (10,053 vehicles), and Wei brand (more than 10,000 vehicles) have all entered the "10,000 - vehicle club".
Throughout June, the automotive market seemed to have been hit with an accelerator button - manufacturers were rushing to meet their semi - annual targets, prices were continuously dropping, and the penetration rate of new - energy vehicles soared to 55%. Can the story of increasing sales through low prices lead to a profit turning point? Will production capacity shortages affect brand reputation? Can several highly anticipated pure - electric models break through the competition under the pressure of Xiaomi's YU7?
These questions will determine the rankings in the second half of the year.
First Echelon: Leapmotor Focuses on Cost - effectiveness, AITO Stabilizes the High - end Market, and Li Auto Prepares for Pure - electric Vehicles
In June, the new - energy vehicle startup camp witnessed an exciting battle for sales volume.
Based on the trends in the first three weeks, both AITO and Leapmotor had the possibility of winning the monthly sales championship. Eventually, Leapmotor won the monthly championship with 48,000 vehicles delivered, leading the second - placed AITO by nearly 3,000 vehicles.
Leapmotor was able to deliver an additional 3,000 vehicles compared to May. On the one hand, the car - purchase promotions launched during the Dragon Boat Festival (for main models such as the C16, C11, and C01) were crucial. On the other hand, the strategy of "lowering prices and increasing configurations" for the redesigned C16 in the second half of the month was very effective. The performance of the upcoming B01 will determine whether it can maintain its championship position.
Although Leapmotor leads in terms of quantity, AITO has a greater advantage in terms of sales revenue. AITO delivered 45,000 vehicles across its entire product line in June, a 22% month - on - month increase. According to calculations by industry insiders, the average price of the AITO brand has remained above 400,000 yuan, while Leapmotor focuses on cost - effectiveness to drive sales volume.
HarmonyOS Smart Mobility also announced that its total delivery volume was 52,700 vehicles. If calculated by group brand sales, it ranks ahead of Leapmotor (48,000 vehicles) and the Zeekr Group (43,000 vehicles).
Speaking of AITO, its real competitor is still Li Auto. This month is also the first time this year that it has beaten Li Auto, and it has returned to the top three among new - energy vehicle startups.
Looking specifically at AITO's sales composition, the M9 (priced from 469,800 to 569,800 yuan) delivered 14,000 vehicles, and the M8 (priced from 359,800 to 449,800 yuan) delivered 21,000 vehicles. These two high - end models contributed nearly 80% of the sales volume.
Statistics from Autohome also confirm this: the M9 has won the sales championship in the 350,000 - 500,000 yuan price range among domestic brands in the past six months, putting real pressure on traditional luxury brands such as BBA in the Chinese market.
Compared with its competitors' strong performance, Li Auto's performance in June was relatively low - key: it delivered 36,279 vehicles, ranking only third among new - energy vehicle startups, with a 24% year - on - year decline and an 11% month - on - month decline.
This was actually foreshadowed - Li Auto lowered its delivery guidance for the second quarter from 128,000 to 108,000 vehicles.
Li Auto's own strategy is also worth pondering. In June, when some brands were engaged in fierce price wars, Li Auto did not follow the trend of large - scale price cuts. It mainly relied on national subsidies and small gifts, which inevitably led to the loss of some price - sensitive customers in the fierce competition.
In addition, Li Auto has indeed encountered some challenges. An investor who follows Li Auto analyzed to "Ding Jiao One" that, for example, before the highly anticipated pure - electric models (i8, i6) are launched, many consumers are "waiting and watching with money in hand". The MEGA has started to increase production, but it is not enough to fully offset the sluggish growth of extended - range models. The redesigned AITO M7 is performing strongly, which may divert potential customers from Li Auto.
In terms of organizational structure, the adjustment of Li Auto's sales organizational structure in June (integrated into the "Intelligent Vehicle Group") is an efficiency upgrade in the long run, but the short - term pain will inevitably affect order conversion.
Second Echelon: XPeng Relies on Redesigned Models, Xiaomi's SU7 Bears the Main Burden, and NIO Tries to Break Through in the Lower - end Market
Now let's look at the new - energy vehicle startups in the second echelon.
XPeng delivered 35,000 vehicles in June, maintaining its fourth - place position, with a good year - on - year growth rate of 224%. However, looking closely at its sales trends and composition, there are also hidden concerns.
At the beginning of the month, XPeng's weekly sales once dropped out of the top five. Fortunately, thanks to the promotions of models such as the G6 and M03, it gained momentum in the second half of the month and ranked among the top five in the weekly rankings of new - energy vehicle startups.
Looking at the models separately, the MONA and P7+ are still performing stably, but the contribution of the mid - to - high - end G series needs to be improved. This means that whether XPeng's investment in intelligent technology can be converted into the premium ability that users are willing to pay for still needs to be tested by the market.
The market is pinning its hopes on the upcoming G7, which is XPeng's major new car of the year. However, it not only has a highly overlapping price range with Xiaomi's YU7 (pre - sale price starting from 235,800 yuan), but also has an overlapping target customer group, so it is under great pressure. Citibank predicted in a research report that in the face of the competition from the YU7, the final price of XPeng's G7 may be forced down to around 210,000 yuan.
Xiaomi Auto delivered "over 25,000 vehicles" in June, ranking fifth among new - energy vehicle startups. The highly anticipated YU7 has not started delivery yet, so the SU7 is still shouldering the main burden.
Looking at the weekly sales, Xiaomi Auto's average weekly sales in the first three weeks were about 5,000 vehicles, and its ranking fluctuated. Fortunately, it made a final - week sprint to stabilize its monthly sales performance.
The SU7 is still very competitive and firmly occupies a leading position in the sedan segment. Many people are curious about where Xiaomi Auto's cars are being sold. Referring to the data compiled by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, the top five cities with the highest sales of Xiaomi Auto from January to April were Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, all of which are first - tier or new first - tier cities. Overall, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta are the main consumption areas for the SU7.
In the short term, Xiaomi's sales will still depend on the release of the SU7's production capacity and the conversion of existing orders. Although the YU7 has received a large number of orders (the Xiaomi App shows that the delivery cycle for the standard version is as long as 53 - 56 weeks), it cannot solve the immediate problem. How to maintain the popularity of the SU7 and smoothly handle the production capacity ramp - up of the YU7 will be Xiaomi's challenge in the next few months.
The NIO series (NIO + LeDao + Firefly) jointly delivered 24,925 vehicles in June, a 17.5% year - on - year increase, ranking sixth.
Breaking it down: the high - end NIO brand delivered 14,593 vehicles, the family - oriented LeDao delivered 6,400 vehicles, and the Firefly, which targets the lower - end market, delivered 3,932 vehicles.
Throughout the second quarter, NIO delivered a total of 72,056 vehicles, reaching the lower limit of its guidance (72,000 - 75,000 vehicles), a 71.2% quarter - on - quarter increase.
A senior person in the new - energy vehicle industry said that NIO's "pyramid" structure has initially taken shape, which not only maintains the brand's tone but also expands the user base. Looking specifically at the products: the "5566" series (ET5/ET5T/ES6/EC6), which was newly launched at the end of May, entered the full - delivery period in June and was the main driver of the NIO brand's growth. The flagship ET9 continues to perform strongly in the high - end market.
However, the challenges NIO faces are also obvious. The above - mentioned person analyzed that in order to control costs, NIO's price strategy is relatively conservative, and its impact on sales is limited. What's more troublesome is that it is not easy to expand in the lower - end market. Li Bin himself admitted that in some provinces (such as Jiangxi), NIO's sales are far lower than those of traditional luxury brands (such as BMW). Although NIO has tried innovative models such as "building battery - swapping stations in every county", the results still need time to be verified.
Half - year Report Card: Leapmotor Rises to the Top, Li Auto's Growth Slows Down, and Xiaomi Needs to Strengthen Production Capacity
Halfway through the 2025 race, the landscape of the new - energy vehicle startup track is very different from what it was at the same time last year.
Leapmotor has locked in the half - year championship with a cumulative delivery of 222,000 vehicles, achieving 44% of its annual target.
This year, Leapmotor has been a real dark horse. In the first week of the year, it was hovering in sixth place. In the 11th week, it entered the top three. After the 19th week, it took turns with Li Auto for the "first" place. However, the question for this "dark horse" is: how to continuously balance "low prices" and "profits"? Can the B01 in the second half of the year replicate the explosive performance of the C16? These are the keys to defending its championship.
Li Auto, in second place, has a heavy - pressure half - year report card. As the former king of extended - range vehicles, Li Auto was briefly surpassed by XPeng in January and February this year and was continuously outperformed by Leapmotor from March to June. Its sales also declined in June. Eventually, Li Auto delivered a cumulative total of 204,000 vehicles, achieving only 32% of its target. To reach its annual target of 640,000 vehicles, it needs to deliver 73,000 vehicles per month in the second half of the year.
Li Auto is pinning all its hopes on the second half of the year: the i8 (a six - seat pure - electric SUV) will be launched in July, targeting the AITO M8 and Denza N9. The i6 (a five - seat pure - electric SUV) will be launched in September, targeting the mass market. Some industry insiders said that considering the tight production capacity of Xiaomi Auto, Li Auto's i8 and i6 are expected to take over some of the overflowing orders from the YU7, but they still need to "compete" for production capacity.
XPeng delivered a cumulative total of 197,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, even exceeding its full - year sales last year, achieving 56% of its annual target.