Li Auto vehicles caught fire, Xiaomi faced doubts about car doors. In October, the domestic new energy vehicle industry reached an inflection point for growth.

On October 23, a fire broke out in an Ideal MEGA 2024 model vehicle in Shanghai.

In response, Ideal filed a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulation, conducting safety inspections, replacements, and repairs on all Ideal MEGA 2024 model vehicles, involving 11,411 units.

This is an epitome of what happened in October.

Throughout October, there were multiple fire incidents involving car manufacturers.

On October 5, in Ningde City, Fujian Province, an Avita 06 caught fire in a parking lot.

Early in the morning of October 13, a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra in Chengdu's Tianfu Avenue rear - ended at high speed and then crashed into a green belt and caught fire. The fact that the car doors couldn't be opened sparked extensive discussions.

On October 23, a Volkswagen Tiguan L New Energy vehicle suddenly caught fire while in motion.

As the number of new - energy vehicles continues to increase, vehicle safety issues are increasingly weighing on the minds of car owners.

Average Sales Exceed 100,000

The sales of new - energy car manufacturers continue to soar.

BYD remains firmly in the first echelon, but the gap between the first and second echelons is narrowing. Apart from BYD, there are four other car manufacturers with stable monthly sales exceeding 100,000, namely SAIC, Geely, Changan, and Chery. These four manufacturers have set new historical records for several consecutive months and are catching up rapidly.

The third echelon is also showing differentiation. Some manufacturers, such as Leapmotor, Great Wall, XPeng, and NIO, are continuously climbing and have all set new historical records. However, some, like Ideal, have seen both year - on - year and month - on - month declines.

Breaking through 40,000 in sales has become the basic threshold. In October, the median sales volume of car manufacturers reached 51,456 units, which would have ranked fourth in the same period last year. It increased by 10,609 units year - on - year and 5,495 units month - on - month. At this critical stage of the year - end sales sprint, car manufacturers are all going all out.

The average sales volume has reached an astonishing 101,209 units, exceeding 100,000 for the first time, an increase of 13,799 units compared to the same period last year and 10,828 units month - on - month.

BAIC New Energy, which has the lowest sales among the announced manufacturers, has exceeded 30,000 units in monthly sales. It would have made it into the top ten in the same period last year. Among the 15 manufacturers that have announced their sales, only BYD and Ideal have seen year - on - year declines. Only Ideal has seen a month - on - month decline. Almost all manufacturers are in a state of counter - trend growth.

The market is changing rapidly. In the same period last year, Ideal and Aion were still in the middle of the pack, but this year they are in the lower - middle position. The once - dominant "King BYD" is now being closely chased, and the competition has reached a white - hot stage.

Data from the Passenger Car Association shows that at the end of September, the inventory of the national passenger car industry was 39 days, a decrease of 6 days year - on - year, indicating a significant reduction in inventory pressure.

As the end of the year approaches, it is usually a critical month for manufacturers to sprint for sales. This year is especially so. One of the key reasons is that policies such as replacement subsidies are being adjusted. In October, four regions have already adjusted their policies.

Among them, Shenzhen announced that the car replacement and renewal subsidy policy would stop after the qualification issuance was completed on October 28. Sichuan suspended the old - for - new car replacement subsidy policy starting from October 18.

Some provinces and cities have adjusted their subsidy methods. Shanghai's old - for - new replacement subsidy uses a lottery - based application method. Jilin implements a "reservation qualification system", where applicants need to obtain qualification vouchers through the "Yunshangfu APP".

In addition to the old - for - new replacement policy, the exemption policy for the purchase tax of new - energy vehicles will expire at the end of the year. It is still unknown whether it will be extended.

To deal with the uncertainty, many car manufacturers choose to boost sales through subsidies.

Among them, Xiaomi Automobile offers a maximum purchase tax subsidy of 15,000 yuan; Deepal Automobile provides a subsidy for the difference in the purchase tax. Chery also offers purchase tax subsidies for some of its models, with a maximum subsidy of 15,000 yuan per vehicle.

The sales sprint has reached the final and most critical stage.

23 Brands Exceed 10,000 in Monthly Sales

Specifically for manufacturer brands, among the 27 brands with available data, except for a few individual brands, exceeding 10,000 in monthly sales has become the most basic requirement.

23 brands have exceeded 10,000, one more than last month. Among them, 9 brands have exceeded 40,000, one more than last month.

Notably, in addition to BYD's Dynasty and Ocean series, Geely's Galaxy series has become the third brand to exceed 100,000 in monthly sales, finally changing the pattern of one - brand dominance at the top.

15 brands have set new historical records, including Geely Galaxy, Leapmotor, Wenjie, XPeng, Geely Lynk & Co, BYD Fangchengbao, BAIC ARCFOX, NIO LeDao, NIO YinghuoChong, Dongfeng Voyah, Changan Avita, Changan Deepal, SAIC IM, Great Wall WEY, and Jishi Automobile.

As the brand influence of relevant brands continues to strengthen, it has become increasingly difficult for new brands to break through.

With the continuous growth of the sales volume of car manufacturers' brands, some manufacturers or brands have already completed their annual targets. XPeng's sales have exceeded 350,000 units, completing 101% of the annual target.

Geely, Changan, and Xiaomi can basically complete their annual targets, with their sales exceeding 80%. In addition, although Leapmotor has significantly raised its sales target, it has already completed 76% and is likely to complete the annual target.

BYD is still in a position where it can strive for more. This month, its sales returned to 400,000 units, completing 67% of the annual target. The last two months are crucial.

Relying on a relatively positive growth trend, Voyah, NIO, and Deepal also have a glimmer of hope, but they will face great pressure in the last two months.

GAC Aion, Ideal, and Avita have become the ones struggling. Currently, they have only completed 39%, 47%, and 47% of their targets respectively and are likely to fail to complete the annual targets.

Currently, the overall growth of brands is a relatively obvious trend. Under this growth, the ranking competition among car manufacturers is becoming increasingly fierce.

The Overseas Expansion Team is Growing

Overseas expansion has always been an inevitable topic for manufacturers. Chinese new - energy car manufacturers are comprehensively expanding overseas.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to September this year, 1.758 million new - energy vehicles were exported, a significant year - on - year increase of 89.4%. Deputy Secretary - General Chen Shihua said that it is expected that by the end of 2025, the cumulative sales of new - energy vehicles will exceed 16 million, and the overall performance of the automobile market will be better than expected.

In October, the overseas expansion team continued to grow.

Traditional car manufacturers remain the main force in overseas expansion. Chery still leads the way. In October, its overseas sales reached 126,000 units, with exports exceeding 100,000 units for the sixth consecutive month.

BYD's overseas sales returned to the 80,000 - unit mark, although it still hasn't reached its previous high. Great Wall's exports are also gradually increasing, exceeding 50,000 units for two consecutive months and reaching a new historical high.

BYD's pure - electric light truck T35 was launched at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan. It is planned to be launched in Japan in 2026, with a pre - sale price starting from 8 million yen (equivalent to about 370,000 yuan). It will also be sold in other global markets such as the Asia - Pacific and Latin America.

In the European market, BYD's new car registrations in the EU more than tripled year - on - year to 13,221 units. In the UK and the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), sales nearly quadrupled to 24,963 units.

BYD also entered the passenger car market in Argentina in October, launching three electric and hybrid vehicles.

Dongfeng launched three self - developed passenger car models in Tunisia, officially entering the Tunisian market.

In addition to traditional car manufacturers, new - energy vehicle startups are also deploying in overseas markets. In October, XPeng Motors announced its entry into the markets of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Cambodia, and has now entered 7 new markets in Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Ideal has also started its overseas deployment. It opened its first authorized retail center overseas in the capital of Uzbekistan, mainly selling Ideal L9, Ideal L7, and Ideal L6 in the local market.

The domestic market is the first half of the game for car manufacturers, while the overseas market is the second half. It is an inevitable trend for car manufacturers to expand overseas and seize new incremental markets.

Strategic Models are Intensively Launched

During the "Golden September and Silver October" period, October is still an important month for the intensive launch of models. If the models launched in September were flagship models, then the models launched in October more often undertake certain strategic tasks.

On October 16, Leapmotor launched its flagship D platform and the first model based on this platform, the Leapmotor D19. It targets the mid - to - high - end market priced between 250,000 and 300,000 yuan. This model undertakes the key task of Leapmotor's foray into the high - end market.

On October 20, BYD's Fangchengbao Automobile launched the long - range version of the Leopard 5, with a market price ranging from 269,800 to 329,800 yuan; the five - seat version of the Leopard 8 was launched, with a price ranging from 379,800 to 407,800 yuan. The Denza N8L was officially launched, with the Honor version priced at 299,800 yuan and the Flagship version at 329,800 yuan. Fangchengbao and Denza also carry BYD's strategic layout in the mid - to - high - price segment, highlighting their strategic significance.

BAIC's volume - driving model, the Alpha T5, was also launched in October, with both the Alpha T5 and its extended - range version being introduced.

ZEEKR's SUV model, the ZEEKR 7X, was also refreshed and officially launched on October 28.

In addition, the Avita 12 launched a four - laser version, with the entire series being standard - equipped with Huawei's Kunlun ADS 4, supporting functions such as parking - to - parking 2.0 and ETC lane recognition and passage.

Great Wall launched models of two brands this month. The new Tank 400 was officially put up for pre - sale, with a pre - sale price starting from 309,800 yuan. The WEY Gaoshan 7 was officially launched, with a retail price starting from 285,800 yuan.

In addition, Dongfeng Yipai Nano 01 and the five - seat version of the 008 were launched, with prices starting from 58,800 yuan and 159,900 yuan respectively.

Chery Automobile's Fengyun T11 started pre - sales, offering 4 models with a pre - sale price starting from 199,900 yuan.

The variety of new models is becoming more and more abundant, allowing them to penetrate into more niche markets and maximize sales. Launching new models has become the norm for new - energy car manufacturers.

NIO, XPeng, Leapmotor: Victories in Sales Maintenance

NIO, XPeng, and Leapmotor are making faster progress in maintaining their sales, and the results are already evident.

All three manufacturers set new historical records this month. Among them, NIO set new records for two consecutive months; XPeng set new historical records for the fourth consecutive month, and Leapmotor did so for the sixth consecutive month.

NIO encountered some trouble this month. The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) sued NIO. In response, NIO stated that the case is not related to recent events or its recent business operations but stems from a short - selling report by the short - selling institution Grizzly in June 2022.

These incidents did not prevent NIO's sales from growing. In October, the LeDao L90 performed outstandingly, with sales reaching 17,342 units, setting a new historical record and providing strong support for NIO's sales growth. The YinghuoChong is a potential model for NIO. This month, its sales reached 5,912 units. Although there is still a gap, with the increase in NIO's production capacity, the low - priced YinghuoChong is expected to become a new growth point.

XPeng's trajectory is similar to NIO's. The Mona M03 saw its 200,000th unit roll off the production line in October, providing strong support for XPeng's sales. Sales are