Chinese electric vehicle brand Li Auto sees first-quarter deliveries up 66%

BEIJING – Chinese electric car brand Li Auto delivered more cars in March than Xpeng in the first quarter, according to company statements.

Li Auto delivered 20,823 vehicles in March, for a total of 52,584 deliveries in the first three months of the year. This represents an increase of almost 66% compared to the first quarter of 2022.

In contrast, Xpeng delivered just 18,230 cars in the first quarter, down 47% from the same period a year ago.

Xpeng delivered 7,002 vehicles in March, above the monthly average for the first quarter. Almost half of last month’s deliveries were of the company’s new P7i sports sedan that launched in March.

Nio reported 31,041 deliveries in the first quarter, up 20.5% from a year ago. The company delivered 10,378 vehicles in March.

Li Auto’s vehicles, all SUVs, each include a fuel tank to charge the battery and extend range.

The company said in a statement that it now has nearly 20 percent of the SUV market in the 300,000 yuan ($43,674) to 500,000 yuan price range in China.

For comparison, Tesla’s mid-size SUV, the Model Y, is sold in a price range of 261,900 yuan to 361,900 yuan.

Xpeng’s G9 SUV starts at 309,900 yuan. The company’s new P7i sedan starts at 249,900 yuan and costs 269,900 yuan if drivers want to use Xpeng’s assisted driving technology for cities. Tesla’s version of the technology, called Full Self Driving, is not available in China.

However, so far Xpeng’s assisted driving technology for cities is only available in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai, where the rollout began on Friday.

The Chinese electric car startup’s delivery numbers pale in comparison to BYD, whose numerous models are sold at different price points.

BYD said it sold 264,647 battery-powered passenger cars in the first three months of the year, up more than 80 percent from a year ago. Sales of hybrid passenger vehicles doubled from a year ago to 283,270 in the first quarter.

Tesla said Sunday it delivered more than 422,000 cars worldwide in the first quarter. The company did not break out figures for China, which typically accounts for more than 20% of Tesla’s revenue.