JW Insights: The newly released November delivery results by major Chinese E...

By Gabby Chen

The newly released November delivery results by major Chinese EV startup makers show that a widening gap in their performance and some could face critical challenges in next stage competition for survival, according to JW Insights analysts. Both the industry and government departments are working to maintain the EV production consumption momentum.

The new EV makers that released their November 2022 delivery reports or are in the news include NIO (蔚来汽车), Leap Motor (零跑汽车), GAC Aion (广汽埃安), Zeekr (极氪), NETA (哪吒汽车), Xpeng (小鹏汽车), Li Auto (理想汽车), AITO (问界), and Hengchi Auto (恒驰汽车).

In November, NIO, Leap Motor, GAC Aion, Zeekr, Li Auto and NETA were the performers with increased sales.

NIO delivered 14,178 vehicles in November, a year-on-year increase of 30.34%, hitting a new record-high and getting rid of its sluggish performance that had lasted for a year.

GAC Aion sold 28,765 vehicles in November, representing a 97.48% year-on-year increase.

Zeekr, the premium EV brand of Geely Holding, announced the monthly deliveries of 11,011 units in November, up 15.11% from the previous month and hit a growth of 447.27% year-on-year.

Li Auto reached a new high with 15,034 vehicles delivered, marking a month-on-month growth of 96.55%, up 11.49% year-on-year.

NETA, emerging this year as a dark horse in China’s EV field, sold 15,072 vehicles in November, increasing by 50.52% year-on-year. The company is not content with the lower end of the EV market. In July, it launched NETA S series, with some models even selling for more than RMB300,000 ($43,170).

Zhang Yong, NETA’s CEO, said, “NETA S is the best coupe with a price tag of less than RMB1 million ($143,900). It is expected to sell between 10,000 and 20,000 units within a single month.”

Despite better figures in November for these players, JW Insights analyst Huang Rengui pointed to in his December 2 article a year-long stagnation with them.

GAC Aion, NETA, and AITO, which had been growing rapidly before, all saw a downward in sales, with month-on-month decreases of 4.32%, 16.34%, and 31.27%, respectively, said Huang.

Other players to be watched include Leap Motor, Xpeng, AITO and Hengchi Auto.

With 8,047 units delivered in November, Leap Motor had a 35.75% fall compared with August. Its sales have been weak since it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 29 this year.

Xpeng’s sales in the month were 5,811 units, falling 62.01% compared with its 15,300 vehicles in June. The company targeted its delivery in Q4 of 2022 with nearly 20,000 to 21,000 vehicles.

AITO, developed by Huawei, Seres and CATL, delivered 8,260 units in November, ending its continuous growth momentum since the delivery in March this year. The company attributed the decline to pandemic disruptions and supply chain shortages, among others.

Meanwhile, there are several Chinese carmakers facing bigger problems. Hengchi Auto, developed by real estate conglomerate Evergrande, for example, is now in the midst of wage arrears and layoffs after plans were revealed to cut 60% of workers at its Tianjin plant. On December 1, a number of showroom sales staff in many locations across the country said they were recently told to suspend work without pay, according to a Jiemian News report.

The 13-year-long EV subsidies issued by the Chinese government are scheduled to end this year. It will cause pressure on Chinese automakers. At the same time, there are reported rumors that the new EV subsidies and purchase tax exemption on fuel cars might be extended to 2023, Huang added.

Cui Dongshu, the secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), said there are suggestions to postpone the policy of reducing fuel vehicle purchase tax. However, it will take more time for the relevant policies to be released.

On November 21, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and two other central government departments jointly issued a notice on invigorating the industrial economy. It pointed out the necessity to further expand automobile consumption and implement relevant preferential policies, which is considered to be a favorable policy for the auto industry.

Therefore, some Chinese auto manufacturers have been raising prices to make profits while others choose to cut prices to boost sales.

BYD announced on November 23 that it would increase the guidance price of models by RMB2,000 ($283) to RMB6,000 ($850) for reasons including the halting subsidies and the sharp rise in lithium prices.

GAC Aion, Geely’s Geometryal, Livan Auto, AITO and Xpeng are also among the list of players that will drop prices or introduce various preferential measures to drive more sales.

Overall, most of China’s new EV enterprises have not yet achieved profitability, and are still investing in large-scale research and development. It could become critical to see whether some players can survive in the next stage of cut-throat competition, said the JW Insights.