Deliveries are usually relatively slow at the beginning of the month, and Tesla's pattern is to produce cars for export in the first half of the quarter and for the local market in the second half.
Insurance registrations in China by the major new energy vehicle (NEV) makers generally slipped last week from the previous week, as deliveries are usually relatively slow at the beginning of the month.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) continued to top the sales charts for China's new car-making brands with sales of 7,900 units in the week of July 3 to July 9, the company said today on Weibo.
Li Auto didn't explain on what basis that weekly sales were tallied, but apparently, they were insurance registrations. The company suspended sharing those numbers in May, but has since resumed sharing them.
Li Auto's sales last week were up 21.54 percent from the previous week -- June 26 to July 2 -- when 6,500 units were sold.
The company's three models currently on sale- - the Li L7, Li L8 and Li L9 -- are extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), essentially plug-in hybrids that can be refueled.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) was the No. 2 in the rankings shared by Li Auto last week with sales of 3,100 units, down 24.39 percent from the previous week's 4,100 units.
Nio's models are all battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), targeting a smaller market. BEVs sold 449,000 units in China in June, contributing 23.7 percent of all passenger car sales, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The company launched the new ES6, based on the NT 2.0 platform, in China on May 24, and its deliveries began that night.
On June 15, Nio launched the ET5 Touring in China, with deliveries beginning on June 16.
On June 28, Nio began deliveries of the new ES8, the flagship SUV launched on Nio Day 2022 on December 24.
Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) sold 1,200 units last week, down 55.56 percent from 2,700 units the week before, according to figures shared by Li Auto.
Xpeng officially launched its new SUV, the G6, in China on June 29 and deliveries began on July 10.
Monthly sales of the G6 are targeted to be at least 10,000 units, said He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's chairman and CEO, in an interview with local media after the June 29 G6 launch.
The G6 has gained good initial acceptance, though Xpeng still faces the challenge of quickly ramping up production capacity so that potential customers don't abandon the model by waiting too long.
Customers have been very enthusiastic about the G6, and those who order it now have to wait about 10 weeks, Xpeng vice chairman and president Brain Gu told English-language media reporters, including CnEVPost, in an online conference on the evening of July 5.
Earlier today, Mr. He said in a Weibo post that he went to the Xpeng factory yesterday to check on the production of the G6 and told workers to do their best to produce the model.
(He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's chairman and CEO, experienced the production of G6 at the factory on July 10.)
Until mass deliveries of the new SUV G6 begin, the P7 series sedan remains Xpeng's main seller, contributing 60.28 percent of sales in June.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) sold 3,200 units last week, down 81.61 percent from the previous week's 17,400 units, likely because vehicles produced at its Shanghai plant last week were mainly being used for export.
Tesla's Shanghai plant, which produces the Model 3 and Model Y, has a pattern to produce cars for export in the first half of the quarter and for the local market in the second half, the US electric vehicle giant previously said.
Tesla sold 93,680 China-made vehicles in June, including 19,468 for export and 74,212 delivered in China, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Geely's premium EV brand Zeekr sold 2,300 units in June, down 25.81 percent from 3,100 units the previous week.
Zeekr launched its third model, the Zeekr X, on April 12, and its deliveries in China began on June 12. Its previous models on sale were the Zeekr 001 shooting brake and the Zeekr 009 MPV.
Neta sold 1,600 units last week, down 50 percent from 3,200 units the previous week.
Leapmotor was at 2,200 units last week, down 35.29 percent from 3,400 units the previous week.
In premium brand sales, including traditional fuel vehicles, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW were the top three last week at 14,800, 11,700, and 10,500 units, respectively. NEV insurance registrations for these three German automakers last week are unknown.
