Chinese electric car sales motor ahead in January

Melody Chen

Most Chinese electric car manufacturers posted higher sales in the first month of 2025.

BYD's (1211) sales of new energy vehicles surged by nearly 50 percent from a year ago to 300,538 units with 66,336 sold overseas. Production rose by 59 percent to 327,964 vehicles.

Geely Automobile (0175) reported a 25 percent year-on-year increase in sales for January to 266,700 vehicles.

Sales of battery electric vehicles surged 1.2 times to 80,000 vehicles while sales of plug-in hybrids rose 39 percent to 41,000 vehicles.

However, Great Wall Motors (2333) saw its sales fall by 22 percent to 80,933 vehicles. NEV sales fell by 11 percent to 22,263 vehicles though overseas sales rose by 6 percent to 28,016 units.

Li Auto (2015) also saw its sales decline by 4 percent to 29,900 vehicles, while its cumulative deliveries reached 1.16 million vehicles at the end of last month.

XPeng (9868) saw its sales rise nearly threefold to 30,400 vehicles. The carmaker sold over 30,000 vehicles for a third straight month and it plans to add more than 1,000 ultra-fast charging stations this year.

Nio (9866) sold nearly 13,900 vehicles, up 38 percent from a year ago.

And Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology (9863) saw January deliveries more than double to 25,200 vehicles. The company made a net profit in the fourth quarter of last year, achieving its single-quarter profit target a year ahead of schedule.