BYD, Leapmotor, and Xiaomi are among the Chinese automakers that reported record sales of electric vehicles in December and hit their 2024 annual targets ahead of their scheduled deadlines. Other major players such as Geely, Chery, and Huawei also reported strong growth momentum in the past year, despite downward pressure from slowing demand in the market as a whole.
December once again boasted the strongest month on record with some dizzying figures from automakers, as China’s car retailing maintained its growth trajectory in the past six months thanks to government incentives and price cuts. Sales of new energy passenger vehicles, which include battery electrics (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), may have grown as much as 38% to around 10.7 million units last year, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) predicted ahead of the full data being released, local media outlet CLS reported.
Below are some automaker developments we saw in 2024.
BYD officially became China’s biggest automaker for the first time, selling nearly 4.3 million electric vehicles to surpass SAIC last year, with sales by Volkswagen and General Motors’ Chinese partner coming in at 4 million. BYD’s sales were considerably higher than its annual goal of selling 3.6 million units set early last year. The Chinese EV giant last spring launched cheaper variants of nearly all of its best-selling models, making it a dominant producer and price-setter.
Geely also posted a record sales volume of 888,235 new energy vehicles (NEVs), accounting for more than 40% of its total car sales last year, as its Galaxy, Lynk & Co, and Zeekr vehicles were warmly received by customers. Volvo’s parent now says it aims to sell 2.71 million cars this year, which could include 1.5 million NEVs and represent a 25% increase from 2024.
Changan followed BYD’s move early by shifting its focus to making PHEVs rather than just BEVs. The partner of Ford and Japan’s Mazda sold around 730,000 NEVs last year, up 50% from 2023. Notably, its premium EV marque Avatr delivered more than 10,000 units for a third straight month in December, after all three existing models were available as extended-range hybrid variants.
Chery said on Wednesday it achieved the strongest growth in terms of NEV sales among established players in China, as the number more than tripled to 583,569 units last year. More than 80% of its new models sold in 2024 were NEVs, including two Luxeed models, powered by Huawei’s assisted driving and operating systems. Meanwhile, sales of its Jetour lineup rose 80.3% year-on-year to 568,387 units.
Li Auto edged past its delivery target of 500,000 vehicles in the business year ended in December, as demand for its family-oriented, extended-range hybrid crossovers remains robust. Still, the company repeatedly lowered its outlook through the year, initially aiming to sell 800,000 cars and later providing a delivery guidance of 560,000 units, due to the failed launch of its first all-electric model, the Mega. It also faced strong competition from Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) which reported combined deliveries of 444,956 vehicles last year.
Leapmotor surpassed the threshold of 40,000 units sold for the second month in a row in December after the Stellantis-backed Chinese startup said early last month that it had achieved its annual goal of selling 250,000 EVs ahead of schedule. Xiaomi shared a similar growth trend, saying on Dec. 28 that it had met an enhanced sales target of 130,000 EVs for the year. The smartphone giant, with only one model on sale, had raised its full-year delivery target from 70,000 to 100,000 and later 120,000 EVs over the past few months.
NIO eventually reached the monthly delivery milestone of 30,000 units last month when its mainstream sub-brand Onvo reported deliveries of 10,528 vehicles following the launch of the L60 crossovers in September, an initial success for the company’s multi-brand strategy. Xpeng also continued its growth momentum by reporting a record delivery of more than 36,000 units last month, of which around 15,000 were the MONA 03 entry-level sedans and another 10,000 were the P7+, a direct competitor to the Tesla Model 3.
