New EV startups are in a collective sprint: Leapmotor surpasses 70,000 units, models with the "Jie" character reach 80,000 units, and NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto reshuffle the rankings again.
In the last month of 2025, the automotive market began to enter the sprint phase.
On December 1st, it was the usual day for releasing sales figures. Different from the past, perhaps stimulated by the policy variables hanging over the market, it was obvious that the demand for car purchases was concentratedly released before the end of the year. For example, Hongmeng Zhixing jumped directly from the "60,000" level to the "80,000" level in monthly sales. In November, the overall delivery volume reached 81,864 units, a year-on-year increase of 89.61% and a month-on-month increase of 20%. The monthly sales volume hit a new historical high.
Leapmotor delivered 70,327 units in November. Although this figure only slightly exceeded that of the previous month, it still refreshed the monthly sales record of new car - making forces. This is already the ninth consecutive month that Leapmotor has ranked first among new car - making forces. This dark horse has become an ever - winning general.
The delivery volume of Xiaomi Auto still exceeded 40,000 units. There were unexpected ups and downs in the "Wei Xiaoli" camp. Li Auto delivered 33,181 units in November, while both NIO and XPeng fell back to the "30,000" level. XPeng delivered 36,728 units, and NIO delivered 36,275 units.
Data fluctuations are normal. However, in the last 100 meters before the finish line, it is clear who will stand on the podium.
The Deep Water Area of Scale
In the volatile automotive market, no one can be the "eternal" king. In the fierce competition in the new energy vehicle market, there are always unexpected plots.
This year, Leapmotor is the car company among new car - making forces that most fits this description.
With a monthly delivery volume of 70,327 units across all models, Leapmotor once again topped the list among new car - making forces. The year - on - year increase was over 75%. While maintaining its leading position with high - growth momentum for nine consecutive months, it also refreshed the monthly sales record of new car - making forces.
On November 15th, Leapmotor officially announced that its cumulative sales this year had exceeded 500,000 units, 45 days ahead of schedule to complete the annual sales target of 500,000 units. It also became the new car - making force that achieved the 2025 annual target ahead of schedule this year.
Looking back at Leapmotor's new products this year, they all have the characteristics of "high - configuration and low - price". The monthly sales volume generally exceeds 10,000 units, and they are all best - selling models in their respective market segments. This is also the core reason why Leapmotor can stand out.
More importantly, with the rapid release of the scale effect, all of Leapmotor's business performance indicators have risen synchronously. In the third quarter, it achieved a net profit of 150 million yuan. At this time last year, Leapmotor was still striving to "survive", but now it has found its own rhythm.
In addition, Leapmotor has a series of new models to launch. For example, the first model of the new A - platform, the A10, which fills the last piece of the puzzle in the A, B, C, D series matrix, made its debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show. The personalized small car Lafa5 has been officially launched, and the D19, which will be delivered next year, has been released, aiming to break into the higher - price segment.
These new cars will also pave the way for Leapmotor to aim for a sales target of 1 million units next year. On its 10th anniversary, Leapmotor has finally entered the "scale - up" stage.
In addition, Lei Jun announced the delivery volume of Xiaomi Auto early on. Although the exact figure was not disclosed, the statement of "continuously exceeding 40,000 units" means that it has remained at this high level for three consecutive months.
On November 18th, Lu Weibing revealed in an earnings conference call that Xiaomi Auto had completed the annual delivery target of 350,000 units ahead of schedule in the third week of November. It is another new car - making company that achieved its annual KPI ahead of schedule. Lei Jun said at the ceremony for the 500,000th unit off the production line that Xiaomi Auto is expected to deliver more than 400,000 units in 2025.
The scale effect of Xiaomi is also beginning to show. The gross profit margin of its smart car business reached 25.5% in the third quarter, and it achieved single - quarter profitability for the first time.
Judging from both the profit rhythm and the delivery scale, this should have been an undisputed highlight moment. However, at the same time, Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi Auto's "in - stock car purchase" service was about to be launched:
"The in - stock cars include brand - new cars, official exhibition cars, and nearly - new cars. They support quick pick - up, full warranty, and after - sales service. Some models also offer price discounts. It is clearly stated that if you place an order before December 26th, the delivery can be completed before the end of the year."
As is well - known, the market previously generally believed that the biggest pressure on Xiaomi Auto was at the "delivery end" rather than the "demand end". However, the launch of the in - stock car purchase service undoubtedly breaks this logical cycle.
Although it is performing strongly, the launch of the "in - stock car purchase" service inadvertently sends two signals: either the models are about to be updated, or the supply - demand relationship may no longer be imbalanced.
But in either case, it shows that Xiaomi Auto is at a critical juncture.
Re - shuffling of "Wei Xiaoli"
This year, the range - extended products of various car companies have emerged in an endless stream, from compact SUVs in the 100,000 - yuan range to mid - to - large SUVs costing hundreds of thousands of yuan. As range - extended vehicles are Li Auto's traditional strength, with range - extended SUVs becoming the golden signboard for other car companies to boost sales, Li Auto's sales are inevitably affected.
In November, Li Auto delivered 33,181 vehicles. As of November 30th, 2025, the cumulative historical delivery volume was 1,495,969 vehicles.
However, Ma Donghui put forward the overall strategic goal of "Li Auto regaining the leading position in range - extended products in 2026" at Li Auto's third - quarter earnings conference, saying that the L series of Li Auto will undergo a major facelift in 2026. Moreover, the implementation of Li Auto's pure - electric strategy has led to a cumulative order volume of over 100,000 vehicles. It is expected that the monthly production capacity of the Li i6 will steadily increase to 20,000 units early next year.
Also at the earnings conference, Li Xiang announced that he was returning from a manager to the founder. This change in identity and mindset also means that Li Auto is starting to turn pressure into motivation.
Unexpectedly, NIO has fallen from the high - flying "NIO 40,000" level to the "NIO 30,000" level. In November, NIO delivered 36,275 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 76.3%.
Among them, the NIO brand delivered 18,393 vehicles; the LeDao brand delivered 11,794 vehicles; and the Firefly brand delivered 6,088 vehicles. As of now, NIO has cumulatively delivered 949,457 vehicles. Among them, the NIO brand has cumulatively delivered 797,712 vehicles; the LeDao brand has cumulatively delivered 119,415 vehicles; and the Firefly brand has cumulatively delivered 32,330 vehicles.
In fact, comparing the data with last month, it is not difficult to see that the core reason for the decline lies with the LeDao brand, which delivered 5,000 fewer vehicles than last month. However, the main NIO brand and the Firefly brand both increased their sales and even set new historical records.
Even so, the LeDao L90 is still the best - selling large pure - electric SUV. It has cumulatively delivered 39,319 units in four months since its launch.
If the LeDao L90 has contributed to NIO's sales growth, then the explosion of the new NIO ES8 has made the sales figures more valuable. With a delivery volume of over 20,000 units in 70 days, NIO has set the fastest record for a pure - electric vehicle priced over 400,000 yuan to reach 20,000 units in delivery. Moreover, the earnings report shows that the production capacity of the new NIO ES8 is still increasing, and it will strive to reach a new historical high in delivery volume in December.
Although the achievement rate of the annual KPI of 440,000 vehicles is just over 55%, compared with whether the annual target can be achieved, people are more concerned about NIO's profitability in the fourth quarter.
With the strong sales of the LeDao L90 and the launch of the new NIO ES8, people suddenly realized that whether NIO can be profitable in the fourth quarter is no longer important. Because people believe that with NIO's efforts, even if it is not profitable this year, it will be profitable next year.
NIO is not the only one that has declined. In November 2025, XPeng delivered 36,728 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 19%. The month - on - month sales decreased. From January to November 2025, XPeng has cumulatively delivered 391,937 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 156%.
Among them, the XPeng X9 has become the biggest contributor, with a month - on - month increase in delivery volume of 161%. The XPeng MONA M03 still ranks first among A - class pure - electric sedans, with a monthly delivery volume of over 10,000 units for 15 consecutive months. The cumulative delivery volume has now exceeded 210,000 units. The main model, the P7 +, has also won the sales championship in the 150,000 - 200,000 - yuan mid - to - large pure - electric sedan segment for 12 consecutive months.
Don't forget that the XPeng X9 Super Extended - Range version only started delivery at the just - ended Guangzhou Auto Show. This also means that XPeng's subsequent delivery volume will also increase significantly with the extended - range version of the XPeng X9. After all, according to He Xiaopeng, within one hour of its launch, it broke the historical single - day large - order record of the XPeng X9.
Moreover, in terms of the achievement rate, XPeng has already exceeded the annual target ahead of schedule. It delivered 355,000 vehicles in the first 10 months, completing the annual target two months ahead of schedule. Fourth - quarter profitability is almost a certainty.
It can be seen that different from the past practice of "scaling up at all costs", in 2025, the leading new car - making forces have included profitability in their core goals. This also means that the competition in the new energy vehicle track has entered a new stage where scale, high - end positioning, and profitability must all be taken into account, moving from the initial goal of "surviving".
Achievement Rate Is Not the Only Criterion
Among a group of new car - making companies, the Hongmeng Zhixing system is a rather special existence. It seems inappropriate to classify it as a second - generation car company or a new car - making force, but it does have a prominent feature: sharing in the glory.
On December 1st, Hongmeng Zhixing released a collective "battle report": In November, all models delivered 81,864 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 89.61%, setting a new monthly delivery record.
You should know that in October, the overall sales volume of Hongmeng Zhixing was 68,218 units, and this month it directly skipped the 70,000 - unit mark and reached the 80,000 - unit mark.
Behind the glorious data, there is an extreme divergence in the performance of different brands in the five - brand system. Some brands are making huge profits, while some are struggling to make ends meet.
However, even so, with the synergistic effect of the multi