Chinese EV Companies Release Their 2023 Deliveries: Key Takeaways
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Chinese EV (electric vehicle) companies have released their deliveries for 2023. Here are the key takeaways from leading companies’ December delivery reports.
2023 was a mixed year for Chinese EV companies and while NIO shares fell 7% during the year, Xpeng Motors and Li Auto respectively rose 47% and 83%. Notably, Chinese EV stocks were quite volatile last year and closed well below their 2023 highs.
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Key takeaways from Chinese EV companies’ 2023 deliveries
NIO delivered 18,012 vehicles in December which was 13.9% higher YoY. During Q4 2023, the company’s EV deliveries rose 25% to 50,045 vehicles. In the full year, the company’s deliveries rose 30.7% to 160,038. Meanwhile, even as the YoY rise in deliveries looks decent, it has come from a lower base as the deliveries of Chinese EV companies were weak in 2022 due to the country’s COVID-19 restrictions which were lifted only towards the end of the year.
NIO to begin ET9 deliveries in 2025
NIO’s cumulative deliveries reached 449,594 at the end of 2023. Last year at its NIO day, the company unveiled the ET9 flagship whose deliveries are expected to begin in Q1 2025.
In its release, NIO said, “The ET9 embodies NIO’s latest advancements in technological research and development, presenting a combination of flagship-style exterior, innovative executive space, leading driving and riding experience, intelligent technologies, efficient power solutions, and comprehensive safety standards. The ET9 is an epitome of NIO’s innovative technologies, setting a new technological benchmark for smart electric vehicles executive flagship.”
Even as NIO’s 2023 deliveries were not as impressive as some of the other Chinese EV companies like Li Auto and BYD, the company is still quite popular among both retail and institutional investors.
Last month, NIO company bagged a $2.2 billion investment from UAE’s CYVN Holdings, its second investment from the investment giant this year.
Chinese EV companies are popular among investors
In the previous investment round in July, CYHN invested $738.5 million in newly issued shares of NIO and purchased another $350 million from Tencent, an existing NIO shareholder.
NIO reported a net loss of $663.9 million in the third quarter of 2023 and continued its streak of losses. Like fellow startup EV companies, NIO is also looking at ways to cut its losses and cash burn and recently announced a 10% reduction in its workforce.
Meanwhile, even as NIO posted massive losses in Q3, it showed an improvement in other metrics. It generated gross profits of $208.8 million in Q3 and while it was 12.2% lower than the corresponding quarter last year, it was up sharply from the previous quarter. Also, its gross margins also improved to 8% in Q3 as compared to 1% in Q2. The company’s vehicle margin also rose to 11% versus 6.2% in the second quarter.
It expects vehicle margins to rise to 15% in the fourth quarter and is targeting a range of 15%-18% in 2024. Notably, the price war has taken a toll on the margins of Chinese EV companies.
Xpeng Motors’ deliveries rise to a record high
Xpeng Motors delivered 20,115 cars in December which was 78% higher YoY and a new record for the Chinese EV company. While Xpeng Motors’ deliveries were below par in the first half of the year, they bounced back subsequently and in Q4 it delivered 60,158 vehicles which was 171% higher YoY.
Its full-year deliveries rose 17% YoY to 141,601 and its cumulative deliveries stand at 400,311 units at the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, Xpeng Motors also announced the launch of its X9 MPV which is built on the SEPA 2.0 platform. The model is priced between RMB 359,800 – 419,800 and is available for immediate deliveries.
Commenting on the X9, Xpeng Motors’ CEO He Xiaopeng said, “With the launch of the XPENG X9, XPENG enriches its Smart EV portfolio, appealing to the primary market needs and promoting the adoption of autonomous driving.”
He added, “Our goal is to seize growth opportunities through our leadership in Smart EV technologies, enhance organizational efficiency and secure a dominant market share.”
Volkswagen invested in Xpeng Motors
Last year, German auto giant Volkswagen took a stake in Xpeng Motors. As part of the deal, Xpeng Motors would build two EVs on its platform and also buy a stake in the company for a total consideration of $700 million. The deal was a pathbreaker for not only XPEV but also the Chinese EV ecosystem as it reflected the confidence of the German auto giant in a startup EV company. It was also a testimony to Xpeng Motor’s self-driving capabilities.
Li Auto’s deliveries rise to another record high
Li Auto delivered 50,353 vehicles in December which was 137% higher as compared to the corresponding month last year. Its deliveries rose 185% YoY to 131,805 in the fourth quarter. In the full year, the Chinese EV company delivered 376,030 vehicles which is 182% higher than 2022.
Li Auto’s cumulative deliveries at the end of 2023 are 633,364 and it became the first emerging Chinese EV company to hit a milestone of surpassing 600,000 cumulative deliveries.
In his prepared remarks, Li Auto’s CEO Xiang Li said, “Since June 2023, Li Auto has become the best-selling premium auto brand in the SUV market for each month in China. With support and recognition of over 600,000 users, we continually deepen our research and development efforts across products, platforms, and systems, among others. Since the Li L series first commenced deliveries, we have completed over 20 OTA upgrades.”
He added, “Looking ahead into 2024, we will continue to push the limit of growth and strive to become China’s best-selling premium auto brand.”
BYD leads the Chinese EV market
Meanwhile, BYD continues to lead the Chinese EV market. Last year, the company delivered 3.01 million cars of which 1.6 million were fully electric and 1.4 million were plug-in hybrid vehicles. The company reached its goal of selling 3 million units last year aided by its price cuts.
Meanwhile, BYD which last year became the biggest seller of new energy vehicles sold 526,409 fully electric vehicles in Q4. While US EV giant Tesla is yet to report its Q4 deliveries, in all likelihood BYD seems to have snatched the crown of the bigger EV seller from Tesla.
