Author: Erchai

Although some people still don’t have a positive outlook on electric vehicles, the trend of new energy development cannot be restrained. Recently, China’s new energy vehicle ownership has exceeded 10 million units, which is a milestone in the development history of new energy vehicles.

June has passed, which means that the sales data of major car companies in the first half of the year have basically been confirmed. When it comes to the keywords “sales” and “new energy”, people always think of BYD first. Therefore, our sales inventory today will start with BYD.

BYD: Suppressed Tesla and Locked in “Global Sales Champion” in Advance

It is well known that BYD has been selling well this year. From the beginning of the year to the middle of the year, there are still hundreds of thousands of orders that have not been delivered due to production capacity problems, but its monthly sales still easily exceed 100,000 units. In June, BYD’s total sales reached 134,000 units, ranking first among all new energy vehicle companies, and also surpassing the total sales of a group of joint venture brands such as SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC General Motors.

In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached 641,400 vehicles, also ranking first in the new energy industry. This data can even surpass its biggest competitor Tesla and win the “global new energy vehicle sales crown.” (Tesla delivered about 564,700 vehicles globally in the first half of the year.) Even without the impact of the epidemic, Tesla would still find it difficult to surpass the already “crazy” BYD.

Throughout last year, BYD’s total sales were only 603,800 vehicles. At the end of the first half of this year, BYD has already exceeded the total sales of the whole of last year, and there are still about 500,000 orders backlog (not accurate, but according to BYD’s current delivery queue cycle, it does not make a big difference).

Abandoning gasoline vehicles has become the most important and correct step BYD has taken so far. From the sales composition of BYD, DM and EV models are evenly divided. Take June as an example, 64,000 DM vehicles were sold, and 69,000 EV vehicles were sold, basically evenly developed.

The sentence “多生孩子好打架” is very appropriate for BYD now. The sales of Han, Song, Yuan, Qin, and even the recently launched Dolphin series have been stable and exceeding 10,000 units per month. This year, BYD will unveil a series of new cars, such as the Ocean (seal, sea lion) series and warships (destroyer 05), and the anticipation of the market has already flooded the comments section on Bilibili. It is not an exaggeration to say that BYD’s sales are limited by production capacity, not lack of orders.

Recently, BYD has also released various information on its million-dollar luxury SUV brand (million-dollar price, independent brand). The Han and Tang models, priced at 300,000 yuan, are clearly not the ceiling for BYD, as the company sets its sights on the higher-end luxury market. As an independent domestic brand, BYD’s achievements are worth 「blowing up」.

Chery: 30% in exports

In addition to BYD, there is another Chinese brand that deserves attention for its performance in June. That is Chery, which has always been relatively unknown. Last month, Chery’s monthly sales exceeded 100,000 units, reaching 105,000 units. Notably, Chery’s exports totaled 35,800 units. In the first half of the year, Chery’s total sales were 475,200 units, with exports reaching 148,000 units. This means that for every 10 cars Chery produces, 3-4 are exported, which is similarly impressive to BYD’s sales.

The main models driving Chery’s export sales are the Tiggo 8 series and Jetour X90, X70, which are also the company’s main models in the domestic market. Chery has always attached great importance to the overseas market. In the second half of this year, there will be global models such as OMODA 5 and Jetour DASHING entering the overseas market, and we will see more Chery cars on the streets abroad in the future.

FAW-Volkswagen: Warmth in June

In March and April, FAW-Volkswagen’s sales were basically aborted due to the impact of the pandemic. In June, the company’s sales finally returned to normal levels.In June, FAW-Volkswagen sold 214,200 units, securing the top spot on the manufacturer’s sales list (having been overtaken by BYD before and falling to second place). Its cumulative sales for the first half of the year reached 492,400 units. Its best-selling models, Bora and Sagitar, recently underwent major facelifts and are expected to further boost its overall sales.

FAW-Volkswagen’s subsidiary, Audi, also saw its sales rise rapidly, with a cumulative sales of 316,900 units for the first half of the year (including imported Audi cars). Meanwhile, Jetta brand also showed a strong performance with 76,700 units sold in the first half of the year, with most of the sales contributed in May and June.

SAIC-Volkswagen also made a comeback in June, selling 126,000 units, almost doubling its sales from the same period last year. Its best-selling model, Lavida, has also demonstrated a younger vibe and a wider appeal.

SAIC Group’s other two joint ventures, SAIC-GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling, also saw their sales rise to 125,000 units and 120,000 units respectively (with Wuling Hongguang MINI selling 46,200 units). Compared to the same period last year, there has been a significant increase. However, these car companies have always been regulars in the top three of the sales list, but are still behind BYD in terms of total sales (here’s another chance to hype up BYD).

PSA’s brand, DS Automobiles, is a rare case among all joint ventures, having found it difficult to survive in the Chinese market for the past few years. But with the help of its DS 9 sedan, it managed to survive the toughest times. In June, Dongfeng Motor Group (DFG)’s overall car sales was still hovering around a low point, but 10,300 units of new cars were delivered by DS, leaving it with a cumulative sales of 56,300 units for the first half of the year, with the DS 9 being the main contributor, achieving monthly sales of between 3,000 to 5,000 units.French carmaker Peugeot tasted the sweetness of this trend last month with the launch of the new generation Peugeot 408, the sister model of Versailles, which is also the first car model to feature the new Peugeot logo. In my opinion, the new Peugeot 408 is as attractive as the Versailles with a similar crossover styling. Its entry into the Chinese market is expected to help boost the sales of Dongfeng Peugeot. Friends who do not mind owning a French car can look forward to it.

Second-tier Luxury Cars: More Effort Needed to Make a Difference

Volvo and Lincoln are currently the most representative second-tier luxury car brands. In June, Volvo sold 16,400 vehicles, a decent increase compared to previous months, mainly driven by the XC40 and XC60, with a monthly sales of around 5,000+ units.

Lincoln now has a more diversified product line, including the Navigator, Aviator, Corsair, and Continental, with the Navigator selling slightly better than the others, fluctuating between 2,000 and 4,000 units per month in the first half of this year. Although the sedan Lincoln Z seemed impressive at first, its sales have not been very high and it still needs more effort.

New Players: XPeng Best-selling, LeapMotor NAZHA Overtakes NIO

When it comes to new players, people often think of NIO first. However, looking at the sales data, there are two new players that have shown remarkable performance this year, one is LeapMotor NAZHA, and the other is Li Auto. Their total sales in the first half of this year have even exceeded NIO’s, which has the highest brand recognition.

The best-selling new player in the first half of this year is still XPeng Motors, with sales of 15,200 units in June and a total of 68,900 units in the first half of the year. In June, XPeng P7 delivered 8,045 units, XPeng P5 delivered 5,598 units, and XPeng G3 series delivered 1,652 units, with monthly sales data remaining stable.

The second-ranked LeapMotor NAZHA has entered the first tier of new players in terms of sales data, although its brand recognition is not as high as NIO’s. Its total sales in the first half of this year reached 63,100 units.

The zero-run cars, with a situation similar to NETA, had a total sales volume of 51,000 units in the first half of the year, and can also achieve a monthly sales volume of about ten thousand units. The main models sold are S01, T03, and C11. Both of these automakers’ single-car prices are basically under 300,000 yuan, which is also one of the reasons why they can surpass NIO.

The total sales volume of Ideal and NIO in the first half of the year were 60,400 and 50,800 respectively. The sales prices of the single car from these two automakers are all over 300,000 yuan, and it is quite remarkable that the Ideal ONE can sell 13,000 units in June.

Ideal is about to introduce the “Best Family SUV Under 5 Million Yuan” Ideal L9, and it is unclear whether this car can continue the miracle of selling more than ten thousand units per month (the online order volume is terrifying and the car’s current evaluation is quite high).

The surge in sales of BYD and other new energy automakers in the first half of this year indicates the trend of electrification. Although the current market share of electric cars is not very high, the development momentum is indeed rapid.

BYD’s ability to surpass traditional automakers such as SAIC Volkswagen, General Motors, and Nissan in fuel vehicle sales based solely on new energy models is the best illustration. Let us look forward to BYD’s even better performance in the second half of the year, which can also be viewed as a historical turning point in witnessing the overtaking of independent brands.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.