New Energy Vehicle Companies Rush to Showcase Annual Performance Reports: Who is the Sales Champion?
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Recently, several Chinese new energy vehicle companies have announced their delivery data for December 2023 and the entire year of 2023.
On the 2nd, China News Jingwei compiled the annual sales performance of 10 new energy vehicle companies in 2023. Among them, BYD's sales surged, with annual sales of 3 million vehicles topping the list. Among the new forces in the automotive industry, Li Auto performed the best. The sales gap among companies at the bottom of the list was small, indicating fierce market competition.
BYD's Rapid Rise
On January 1st, BYD officially announced that its December 2023 new energy vehicle sales reached 341,000 units, representing a 45.1% year-over-year increase and a 12.96% month-over-month growth. For the entire year of 2023, cumulative sales totaled 3.0244 million units, marking a 62.3% increase compared to the previous year.
In March 2023, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu stated during an earnings conference that "BYD's sales target for this year starts at 3 million vehicles, with aspirations to double growth to 3.6 million vehicles." This time, BYD has exceeded its annual sales target of 3 million vehicles.
Notably, in December 2023 alone, BYD's monthly sales exceeded those of December 2022 by 100,000 units.
BYD's sales in December 2023 may be related to its promotional efforts. During that month, BYD launched the 'Gratitude for 6 Million Oil-to-Electric Conversion Limited-Time Mega Discount' campaign, offering subsidies of up to 20,000 yuan. Earlier, certain models like the Qin PLUS started as low as 89,800 yuan, with discounts of 10,000 yuan, reflecting substantial promotional efforts.
Li Auto Emerges as Annual 'Dark Horse'
In December 2023, Li Auto sold 50,200 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 137.1%, achieving its monthly delivery target of 50,000 units. For the entire year of 2023, Li Auto delivered a total of 376,000 vehicles, marking a year-on-year growth of 182.2%.
Li Auto CEO Li Xiang announced after the data release that the company will challenge the target of 800,000 annual sales and 100,000 monthly sales in 2024. However, Li Auto originally planned to launch its flagship pure-electric model MEGA in December 2023 but has now postponed it to March 1, 2024.
Additionally, it was noted that Li Auto introduced limited-time purchase benefits in December 2023, offering discounts of up to 21,000 yuan for orders of Li L7, L8, and L9 models throughout the month.
Furthermore, GAC Aion performed remarkably, ranking third. According to GAC Aion's official announcement, its sales in December 2023 reached 45,900 units, a 53% year-on-year increase, while its annual sales for 2023 totaled 480,000 units, up 77% year-on-year. GAC Aion also stated that its cumulative production and sales of pure-electric and new energy brands surpassed one million units in December 2023.
GAC Aion previously officially launched the dual-brand matrix of 'AION + Hyper Hao Bo'. On October 9, 2023, the first model of Hyper Hao Bo, the Hyper SSR, was officially launched and delivered.
Intense Competition Among Bottom-Ranked Automakers
According to findings, among the 10 new energy vehicle manufacturers analyzed, the mid-tier segment—comprising NIO, Leapmotor, XPeng, and Deepal—showed closely matched total sales for 2023. NIO led with annual cumulative sales of 160,000 units, a 30.7% year-on-year increase. Leapmotor followed with 144,200 units, up 29%, while XPeng recorded 141,600 units, a 17% growth.
Additionally, AITO achieved impressive monthly sales in December 2023, reaching 24,500 units, a 29.96% increase month-on-month. Following closely was DeepBlue, which sold 18,300 units in December, second only to Leapmotor. Among other automakers, Neta and Zeekr had cumulative sales in 2023 differing by less than 10,000 units. However, Neta's performance was lackluster, with a 16% decline compared to its total sales in 2022.
Overall, the competition among automakers remains intense, both in terms of sales performance and market dynamics. At the end of 2023, DeepBlue and Neta continuously rolled out promotional policies, offering discounts of around 20,000 yuan. Zeekr provided even more substantial discounts, with the Zeekr 001 seeing a maximum price reduction of 37,000 yuan and comprehensive discounts of up to 80,000 yuan. Meanwhile, AITO extended its premium intelligent driving package discount into 2024. It is reported that the discount for AITO's premium intelligent driving package in 2024 was upgraded from 18,000 yuan to 26,000 yuan, valid from January 1 to March 31, 2024.