In the third week (W3) of the year, January 15 – January 21, China’s EV market was largely up, with a few exceptions. BYD was flat, Tesla was up 60%, Zeekr was up 30% and Nio was up 12% from the week before. With the Chinese New Year approaching, we can expect the upward trend to continue until the festive season arrives in the first week of February.
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The weekly data is published by Li Auto and represents weekly sales. The background data are weekly insurance registrations. The figures have been rounded and reflect new energy vehicles (NEV), the Chinese term for BEVs, PHEVs and EREVs (range extenders). To be completely precise, it also includes hydrogen vehicles (FCEVs), but their sales are virtually non-existent in China.
BYD registered 40,400 electric vehicles, an increase of 0.25% compared to the 40,300 electric vehicles the week before. Between January 1 and 21, BYD sold 125,100 electric vehicles in China.
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BYD’s premium brand YangWang, which has a single model for sale: a hardcore SUV priced at 1.089 million yuan (153,000 USD) Yang Wang U9registered 398 vehiclesan increase of 47% compared to the previous week.
Secondly, BYD’s brand, Fang Cheng Bao (FCB), which has also listed a single model for sale Bao 5 (Leopard 5 in English), registered 981 vehicles, down 8% from 1,060 vehicles the week before. FCB is still a premium brand, but much cheaper than YangWang. Bao 5 UV has a price tag of around 300,000 yuan (42,000 USD).
The third BYD brand, Denza, is a former joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, which BYD took control of in 2021. It is positioned above BYD-badged cars, but below FCB, and has three models in its range (D9, N7, N8). Denza has registered 2,000 carsan increase of 33.33% from 1,500 the week before.
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Tesla registered 11,700 electric vehicles, an increase of 58.11% from the 7,400 electric vehicles the week before. Between January 1 and January 21, Tesla sold 22,400 electric vehicles in China.
Tesla began production of the 2024 Tesla Model 3 (Highland) in China in September, but it was primarily intended for exports and not for the crowded local electric sedan market. Rumor has it that the American automaker will begin production of the 2024 Model Y (Juniper) in April.
Tesla model sales breakdown:
- Model Y: 8,800 units
- 2024 Model 3: 2,900 units
Nio registered 1,900 electric vehicles, an increase of 11.76% from 1,700 the week before. Nio will reportedly launch annual updates to their models in April 2024, and last week they introduced a huge discount of up to USD 5,500 for the 2023 model range.
Sales overview of the most important Nio models:
- Nio ES6: 780 units
- Nio ET5/ET5T: 620 units
- Nio EC6: 300 units
Li Auto took the top spot among EV startups, registering 7,600 vehicles, an increase of 11.76% from 6,800 the week before. Li Auto only sells EREVs and will launch its first EBV Li Mega in March.
Li Auto sales breakdown:
- L7: 3,200 units
- L8: 2,200 units
- L9: 2,200 units
Huawei-backed Real registered 7,300 vehicles, an increase of 7.35% from 6,800 vehicles the week before.
Sales overview of the Aito model:
- Aito M7: 7,000 units
- Aito M5: 300 units
Changan’s EV brand, Deep, took third place among EV startups. Deepal sold 3,200 vehicles, down 3.03% from the previous week. Zeekr registered 2,800 electric vehicles, an increase of 27.27% from 2,200 the week before. XPeng registered 1,800 electric vehicles, up 28.57% from 1,400 the week before.
Xpeng this week introduced a huge discount of over 6,000 USD for its flagship Sean Xpeng P7i. Moreover, the Xpeng X9 MPV is the latest EV from Xpeng, which was delivered in early January.
Sales overview of Xpeng models:
- XPeng X9: 470 units
- XPeng G6: 450 units
- XPeng P7: 370 units
- XPeng G9: 360 units
- XPeng P5: 120 units
Volkswagen registered 3,800 electric vehicles, an increase of 8.57% from 3,500 the week before.