TMTPost -- Latest data showed all the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers suffered significant slowdown in an off-season the seven-day Chinese Lunar New year falls on resumed robust sequential growth of delivery.

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BYD Co. Ltd, the top new energy vehicle (NEV) maker in the world, said it sold 302,459 NEVs, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), in March, increasing 46.06% year-over-year (YoY). The sales more than doubled from a month ago with a 147.29% month-over-month (MoM), representing a major comeback compared with February, when the Shenzhen-based company’s NEV sales crashed 39.3% MoM and 36.8% YoY. March is the first month for BYD to return to monthly sales of more than 300,000 units to the year date, though still below its recent record of over 341,000 units set in last December. Sales over the first quarter of 2024 totaled 626,263 NEVs with a 13.44% YoY growth. BYD seemed to gain traction from low-pricing strategy through its new Honor edition of many models launched since February.

AITO, a brand jointly developed by Huawei and Chongqing Sokon's brand Seres,maintained its leadership among emerging EV startups in China for three months in a row. AITO shipped 31,727 vehicles in March, up about 50% MoM, and shipment in the first quarter increased to 85,800 units. While the sales didn’t break the month record of 32,73 units that shattered in January, the figure showcased a recovery compared with February with a 36% MoM decrease. March is the first complet month that new M7 model started delivery. Out of the monthly shippments, 24,598 units, or 77.5%, came from the updated model.  AITO has delivered more than 120,000 vehicles since the launch of new M7 on September 12, 2023.

AITO is expected to be receive more driving force from M9, a flagship six-seter SUV that rolled out last December. AITO started delivery of M9 across China on February 26 and delivered 6,243 vehicles in March, ranked as the first place in segment priced at more than RMB500,000 made by EV startups. Capacity of M9 is still in ramp-up and the total preorders M9 has exceeded 60,000 units. 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.

Li Auto Inc. still fell behind AITO with a delivery of 28,984 vehicles in March, while the delivery rose 39.2% YoY and 43.12% MoM, compared with a 21.8% YoY increase and a 35% MoM drop a month earlier. Li Auto delivered 80,400 units in the first quarter, up 52.9% YoY. The cumulative delivery reached 713,764 vehicles as of the end of March, establishing  the company as the first Chinese emerging NEV maker to achieve a milestone of 700,000 total cumulative delivery.

Xpeng Inc. reported delivery of 9.026 vehicles in March, with a 29% YoY increase and a 99% MoM increase. March also saw great improvement as delivery  decreased 24% YoY and 44.9% MoM in the previous month. Delivery in the first quarter totaled 21,821 EVs, a 20% increase from last year. Xpeng noted X9 maintained its position as the top-selling all-electric MPV in China, with 3,946 units delivered in March and nearly 8,000 units delivered since its launch on January 1. Xpeng stressed development of overseas expansion. It announced in March strategic partnerships with leading car dealer groups in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, paving the way for the launch of its right-hand drive G6 model. It also officially entered the German market by introducing two smart EV models, the launch edition of the G9 SUV and the P7 sedan. These initiatives are part of XPENG's broader plan to further penetrate global markets, including France, Italy, and the UK.

Nio Inc. delivery grew 14.3% YoY to 11,866 vehicles in March, representing a 46% MoM increase, while the delivery fell 33% YoY and down 19% MoM a month ago. The company delivered 30,053 vehicles in the first quarter, roughly in line with the forecast  of 30,000 units that it cut last week, down from a range of 31,000 to 33,000 units.  Nio signaled it would remain strong growth as it started deliveries of its 2024 ES8, ES6, EC7, EC6 and ET5T, and plans to begin deliveries of the 2024 ES7, ET7 and ET5 soon in the second quarter of 2024. it said the 2024 models feature enhanced configuration and performance, highlighted by the upgraded Center Computing Cluster, which further boosts our computing power and product competitiveness.

Zeekr, an EV brand owned by Geely, delivered 13,012 vehicles in March, up 95% YoY and 73% MoM, compared with a 40% YoY increase and a 40% MoM decline in the previous month. Delivery for the first quarter thus surged 117% YoY to 33,059 units. Zeekr said it accumulated more than 30,000 preorders of  new version of 001 model in the first month since its launch, and will step up ramp-up. The CEO An Conghui expressed optimism about sales target of 230,000 vehicles this year in an earnings conference of Geely in March. Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies Ltd, posted three-digit growth of a 13,012-unit delivery in March, up 136.02% YoY and 121.85% MoM. Delivery in February also more than doubled a year earlier but sank 46.5% MoM. Sales in March evidently were driven by Leapmotor’s first global model C10. The automaker began presales of C10 on January 10 and has accumulated over 45,000 preorders of the model prior to the official release on March 2.