On 1 October, Chedongxi tallied September delivery numbers from ten EV start-up groups, counting ecosystem alliances, alongside three legacy carmakers. The split was sharp. The start-up camp diverged, and the traditional giants that went overseas grew on both axes.
Leapmotor delivered 105,700 vehicles globally in September, up 59 per cent year on year and 2.5 per cent month on month, its third straight month above 100,000 and a new single-month record. For the first time it also disclosed overseas volume: more than 27,000 units exported that month, implying roughly 78,700 domestic sales.
Xiaomi and XPeng both cleared 40,000 deliveries, breaking into the top three start-up groups. Xiaomi passed 40,000 for the month, and its Pengcheng range-extender SUV contributed more than 10,000 in its first month on sale, helping it overtake Harmony Intelligent Mobility in publicly reported volume for the first time. Harmony Intelligent Mobility delivered about 37,500, down nearly 30 per cent year on year as key models went through refresh cycles.
Zeekr delivered 37,400 and the NIO group 35,500, both up year on year, but NIO’s three brands were uneven: the NIO brand delivered 21,300, up 55 per cent, firefly 7,327, up 26.9 per cent, while Onvo fell to 8,763, down 40 per cent. Li Auto, Deepal and Voyah all declined year on year. Six of the ten start-up groups were down.
Legacy Carmakers Pulled Ahead on Export
BYD sold more than 460,000 vehicles in September, up 17 per cent year on year and 5.3 per cent month on month, with overseas sales of 179,900, up 153.9 per cent. Geely moved 292,200 units, up 7 per cent year on year and 8.1 per cent month on month, exporting 106,700, up 162 per cent. Great Wall sold 114,900, down 14 per cent year on year, with overseas above 60,000. Strip out its pickups and Great Wall’s passenger volume of 99,900 was overtaken by Leapmotor.
The contrast is the headline. According to the China Passenger Car Association, domestic wholesale volume fell about 30 per cent in the first 27 days of September. The traditional “golden September” peak did not arrive as a rally this year. Growth came almost entirely from abroad.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Chedongxi report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://chedongxi.com/p/377282.html.
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