August sales results are out: BYD tops the list, Li Auto lags behind

The new energy vehicle market in China is surging at an astonishing speed. In August, the penetration rate approached 60%, and the competition between traditional brands and new players has reached a white - hot stage.

On September 1st, major automakers announced their sales data for August as scheduled, and the new energy market remained booming. BYD firmly held the top position with an absolute advantage of 373,600 vehicles, almost matching its performance in the same period last year. Geely Automobile and SAIC Group followed closely with 147,400 and 129,800 vehicles respectively. The traditional automotive giants still control the basic market share.

The new players presented a mixed picture. Leapmotor set a new historical high with a delivery volume of 57,100 vehicles. XPeng and NIO also delivered 37,700 and 31,300 vehicles respectively, also achieving their best - ever results. The average transaction price of Hongmeng Zhixing, supported by Huawei, reached as high as 380,000 yuan, achieving both high volume and high price. However, Li Auto's sales decreased by 40.72% year - on - year.

Next, let's take a look at the strategies of the top 15 automakers that have announced their delivery data and see how they performed in the market in August.

TOP 1

BYD: 373,600 vehicles, solid leading position

BYD's new energy vehicle sales reached 373,600 vehicles in August, basically the same as 373,100 vehicles in the same period last year. Among them, the sales of pure - electric passenger cars were 199,600 vehicles, accounting for more than 50%. Plug - in hybrid models continued to perform strongly.

Relying on the cost advantage of the entire industrial chain and technological iteration, BYD achieved breakthroughs in both the plug - in hybrid and pure - electric markets, and its market penetration rate approached 60%. The Hai Lion 06 New Energy, Seal 06 New Energy, and Qin PLUS New Energy became the main models, with monthly sales reaching 65,000, 58,000, and 52,000 vehicles respectively.

In addition, BYD's overseas expansion strategy has achieved remarkable results. In August, it exported a total of 80,800 new energy vehicles, becoming an indispensable Chinese force in the global new energy market.

TOP 2

Geely Automobile: 147,300 vehicles, multi - brand synergy

Geely Automobile's total sales in August were 250,200 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 38%. New energy models accounted for nearly half, reaching 147,300 vehicles. Among them, the sales of pure - electric models were 93,400 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 98%; the sales of plug - in hybrid models were 54,000 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 90%.

Looking at the brands separately, Geely Galaxy performed extremely well in August, with sales reaching 110,600 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 173%, setting a new historical high. Among them, the Xingyuan model exceeded 42,000 vehicles in a single month, becoming a benchmark in the compact SUV market.

ZEEKR and Lynk & Co delivered a total of 44,843 vehicles in August, a year - on - year increase of 10.6%. Geely is fully embracing new energy through a multi - brand strategy, making efforts in both the pure - electric and plug - in hybrid markets. Especially the synergy with the Galaxy sub - brand, hybrid models such as Galaxy L7 and L8 have outstanding competitiveness in the 150,000 - 200,000 yuan range.

TOP 3

SAIC Group: 129,800 vehicles, traditional giant makes efforts

SAIC Group's vehicle sales reached 363,400 vehicles in August, a year - on - year increase of 41.04%. Among them, the sales of new energy vehicles were 129,800 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 49.89% and a month - on - month increase of 10.7%. From January to August, the cumulative sales of new energy models were 893,000 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 44.4%.

Looking at the brands separately, IM Motors sold nearly 6,600 vehicles in August, a year - on - year increase of 42.9%. The new IM L6 ranked among the top three in the sales of mid - to large - sized pure - electric sedans priced over 200,000 yuan.

In addition, SAIC Passenger Vehicles sold 22,000 new energy vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 208.6%; SAIC MAXUS sold more than 4,600 new energy vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 25.1%; SAIC GM sold more than 10,000 new energy vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 87.5%; SAIC - GM - Wuling sold 74,000 new energy vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 52.8%.

TOP 4

Changan Automobile: 88,000 vehicles, significant growth rate

Changan Automobile's new energy business is leading the market with a high - speed growth trend, and each sub - brand has performed well.

Changan Automobile sold 88,000 new energy vehicles in August, a year - on - year increase of 80%, with a growth rate significantly higher than the industry average. This figure accounted for 37.8% of Changan Automobile's total sales of 233,000 vehicles in that month, indicating that the new energy strategy has become an important growth engine for Changan Automobile.

Among them, Avatr sold 10,565 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 185%; Deepal delivered 28,235 vehicles globally in August, a year - on - year increase of 40%; Changan Qiyuan also performed quite well. The Qiyuan A07 sold 21,000 vehicles and the Q05 sold 13,000 vehicles. These two models received high attention and performed steadily in the 150,000 - 200,000 yuan range, providing support for Changan's overall new energy sales.

The rapid growth of Changan's new energy sales is mainly due to the success of its multi - brand strategy and the intensive launch of new products. In the future, with the successive launch of new models such as the Avatr 07, the upgraded Avatr 12, and the Deepal L06, Changan Automobile's new energy sales are expected to continue to grow at a high speed.

TOP 5

Chery Automobile: 71,200 vehicles, significant year - on - year increase

Chery Group sold 242,736 vehicles in August, a year - on - year increase of 14.6%. Among them, Chery Group sold 71,218 new energy vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 53.1%. From January to August this year, the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles were 359,400 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 98.6%.

Although the growth rate declined in 2025, the absolute volume increased significantly, mainly due to its multi - technology route strategy. Chery adheres to the parallel development of hybrid, extended - range, pure - electric, and hydrogen - energy technologies, and promotes the growth of hybrids relying on the technical advantages of fuel vehicles.

Chery has also done quite well in the high - end layout: brands such as Xingjiyuan and iCAR have continued to make efforts, and models such as the 2025 Xingjiyuan ES have upgraded their intelligent and endurance capabilities. In addition, Chery's new energy export volume has increased to 32.3% with the overall export growth of the group, accelerating the penetration of the overseas market.

TOP 6

Leapmotor: 57,000 vehicles, a dark horse among new players

Leapmotor delivered 57,066 vehicles across the board in August, a year - on - year increase of more than 88%, setting a new historical high. From January to August this year, Leapmotor delivered a total of 328,900 new vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 136.4%.

Leapmotor has become the biggest dark horse among the new players. Among them, the Leapmotor C10 sold 28,000 vehicles, the Leapmotor B01 sold 22,000 vehicles, and the Leapmotor C11 sold 15,000 vehicles. These three models contributed the main sales volume.

Founder Zhu Jiangming revealed that the single - day order lock exceeded 3,000 units on weekends. After the production capacity ramps up, the sales volume in September is expected to exceed 60,000 vehicles. The Leapmotor Lafa 5 will be unveiled at the Munich Motor Show in Germany on September 8th.

TOP 7

Hongmeng Zhixing: 44,500 vehicles, Wenjie takes the lead

Hongmeng Zhixing delivered 44,579 new vehicles across the board in August, and the cumulative annual delivery exceeded 900,000 vehicles. The Wenjie brand alone contributed 90% of the sales volume, reaching 40,012 vehicles.

The Wenjie M9 delivered 10,067 vehicles, becoming the sales champion in the market above 500,000 yuan; the M8 delivered 21,537 vehicles, winning the sales championship in the 400,000 - yuan market. These two models contributed nearly 80% of the sales volume of the Wenjie brand.

Even more remarkable is that the average transaction price of Hongmeng Zhixing in August was as high as 380,000 yuan, achieving both high volume and high price.

TOP 8

XPeng Motors: 37,700 vehicles, intelligent driving becomes the ace

XPeng Motors delivered 37,709 new vehicles in August, a year - on - year increase of 169%, leading the industry in growth rate. In the first eight months of 2025, XPeng Motors delivered a total of 271,600 intelligent electric vehicles, a 252% increase compared with the same period last year.

XPeng Motors' investment in the intelligent field has paid off. The monthly active user penetration rate of its intelligent navigation assisted driving (XNGP) in urban areas reached 85%. The new P7 received over 10,000 large orders in 7 minutes after its launch, and the MONA M03 has cumulatively delivered more than 160,000 vehicles.

TOP 9

Great Wall Motors: 37,500 vehicles, a new growth engine

Great Wall Motors' new energy sales reached a new high in August, reaching 37,495 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 50.92%, far exceeding the industry growth rate. Among them, the WEY brand performed outstandingly, with sales surging by 167.51%, and the Haval and Ora brands also grew steadily.