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BEIJING, May 1 (TMTPOST)— The landscape of China’s electric vehicle (EV) sector is changing amid intense price war ignited by Tesla.

Source: Visual China

Aion, a subsidiary of the state-owned manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC), maintained the fastest growth in sales among EV startups. The company said on Monday that it sold 41,012 vehicles in April, increasing 2.5% from its sales record made in March. The volume suggests a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 302%, and is much rapid than a 97% YoY increase in previous month, when the brand for the first time sold more than 40,000 units. Its sales from January to April surged 120% YoY to 121,320 units.  

Li Auto Inc delivered 25,681 EVs in April, shattering a new record following its delivery first exceeded 20,000 vehicles in the previous month. The latest delivery represents a 516.3% yearly growth, much robust than the 89% growth in March. The EV maker reported a consequential growth of 23.3%, another double-digit month-over-month (MoM) increase following that of 25% in March. “We are pleased to have delivered over 10,000 Li L7s in its first full month of deliveries, establishing the vehicle as a preferred choice among five-seat premium SUVs for Chinese families while marking the first time a Chinese branded five-seat SUV priced above RMB300,000 has achieved this monthly delivery milestone,” the chairman and CEO Li Xiang noted. “We are also proud to have captured leading shares in both China’s NEV and SUV markets in the price segment above RMB300,000 in the first quarter of 2023.”

Hozon Auto’s EV brand Nezha posted delivery of 11,080 units in April, up 25.7% YoY and 9% MoM. Out of them, its premium model Nezha S were delivered 2,206, climbing about 1% from the previous month. That is the third consecutive monthly increase since the model started delivery in November. Geely’s brand Zeekr delivered 8,101 EVs with a 279% YoY increase and 21.6% MoM increase. The brand said it became champion at the luxury full electric segment as results in April brought its accumulative delivery to 101,283, topping a milestone of 100,000 units.

NIO Inc said its delivery in April down to 6,658 units, increasing 31% YoY while falling 31% MoM. With the lowest monthly delivery this year, NIO was overtaken by Xpeng Inc, the laggard in recent months. NIO’s decline came as the upgrade from NIO Technology 1.0 (NT1.0) to NIO Technology 2.0 (NT2.0)and the transition to its next generation of lineup. The company debuted the All-New ES6, a smart electric all-round SUV, at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 18, and expects to officially launch the model and commence deliveries in May. It also launched the 2023 ET7, a smart electric flagship sedan based on NT2.0, at the show and said the delivery would start in May. The All-New ES8, a smart electric flagship SUV based on NT2.0 that was launched at NIO Day 2022, is expected to commence deliveries in June 2023.

Xpeng delivered 7,079 vehicles in April, edging 1% from the previous month, while the delivery dropped 27% from a year ago. The automaker showed optimistic on new models as well. P7i, a new sports sedan rolled out in March, continues to gather strong order intake momentum and its production is significantly ramping up, which will accelerate deliveries in the near future, according to a statement on Monday. The Ultra Smart Coupe SUV G6, the latest production model unveiled at Auto Shanghai 2023 on April 18, is planned for official launch at the end of the second quarter, with deliveries immediately following.