BEIJING, December 1 (TMTPost)— Chinese electric vehicle (EV) companies delivered another robust monthly sales in the past month and are right on the path to hit their annual targets or even meet them early.

Credit：Visual China

BYD Co. Ltd said it sold 301,903 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), in November. Data showcased Tesla’s archrival broke sales record for seven straight months after sales first topped a 300,000-unit milestone in October. While sales rose about 31% year-over-year (YoY) in November, the volume nearly flat from the previous month. Accordingly, BYD is facing a challenge to meet its annual target of 3 million vehicles as it has to sell around 316,600 units in December, a new record with an increase of almost 15,000 units, or about 4.9%, from October’s 301,833 NEVs.The automaker sold a total of 2.6834 million NEVs from January to November, up 64.8% YoY. The company maintained robust overseas expansion. Sales in markets beyond China first exceeded 30,000 units in November.

A number of BYD’s domestic peers posted stronger growth in November. Aion, a brand owned by the state-owned manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC), maintained lead in emerging Chinese EV brands in terms of sales volume.It accelerated shipments in November with 41,567 EVs and a 45% YoY increase, compared with a growth of 38% a month ago. The brand shipped 434,100 vehicles in total during the eleven months this year, increasing 80% YoY. It is well on the track to meet its target of 500,000 units and could even top 60,000 units.

Li Auto Inc.extended its record-breaking streak this year with a delivery of 41,030 vehicles in November, representing a 172.9% YoY increase. The Beijing-based company first deliveredmore than 40,000 units in a month in October, and its monthly delivery just passed the 30,000-unit milestone for the first time in June. Cumulative deliveries as of November reached 325,677 vehicles, achieving its 2023 target of 300,000 vehicles ahead of schedule. Li Auto’s monthly deliveries have exceeded 40,000 vehicles for two consecutive months, the highest among Chinese emerging new energy automakers and premium brands in China, and making it the best-selling brand among SUVs priced above RMB300,000 in China, the CEO Li Xiang said. The executive added his company will continue to strive for a 50,000 monthly delivery target in December, citing the growing  market demand as a tailwind.

Xpeng Inc said delivery in November surged 245% YoY to the highest 20,041 EVs and surpassing monthly deliveries of 20,000 for the second straight month. The EV SUV G6 delivery of 8.750 units edged slightly more than the previous month, and the model remained the best-seller battery electric SUV in the RMB200,000-250,000 price segment.Xpeng’s deliveries have grown month-over-month (MoM) for the past 10 consecutive months, reaching a year-to-date total of 121,486 units and surpassing total deliveries for the entire year of 2022.

AITO, a brand jointly developed by Huawei and Chongqing Sokon's brand Seres, announced delivery of 18,829 units in November, and about 81% of it, or 15,242 vehicles were shipped to buyers of updated M7.The new version of M7 broke AITO’s monthly record for a single model in Ocotber with more than 10,000 units of delivery. AITO has accumulated over 100,000 preorders in two and a half months since the launch of new M7 on September 12, and the intelligent driving edition accounted for 60% of the orders. These preorders come from customers who have strong interest in purchase and are very likely to convert into sales as any shopper has to pay a non-refundable deposit of RMB5,000 to place the order. AITO also rolled out the new M7 Max Rear-Wheel Drive Intelligent Driving Edition on November 28, starting at RMB289,800.

Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies Ltd,shipped 18,508 EVs in November, refreshing its record set in previous month with a 130% YoY growth. The company said it has completed the deal on November 20 follwing an investment agreement with European auto giant Stellantis NV settled late October. Under the agreement, Stellantis spent 1.5 billion euros (US$1.58 billion) to acquire a stake of about 20% in Leapmotor. The two companies are going to set up a joint venture, in which Stellantis will own a 51% stake and have the exclusive rights for the export, sale and production of Leapmotor vehicles outside Greater China. Leapmotor plans to accept preorders of  its first global model C10 in upcoming January and the model will hit the market and start delivery in the first quarter.

Zeekr, an electric vehicle (EV) brand owned by Geely, also set its record with delivery of 13,104 units in November, up 19% YoY. While delivery volume was bigger than Zeekr, Nio Inc saw somewhat slowdown for the month. The Shanghai-based EV maker increased delivery 12.6% YoY to 15,959, declining 0.7% from the previous month. October saw the company’s first positive MoM growth since it broke monthly record in July with the volume of 20,500 units. Nio deliveries year-to-date in 2023 totaled 142,026 vehicles, increasing 33.1% YoY.