Tesla rivals BYD, XPeng, Xiaomi, Li Auto, Nio and Zeekr reported May electric vehicle sales Sunday. BYD just launched a massive China EV price war.
Tesla does not disclose monthly China EV sales but weekly EV registration data point to lackluster deliveries.
On May 23, BYD slashed prices by up to 34% on many of its BYD-branded EVs, especially at the lower end. That has spurred several rivals to announce their own big discounts. On Friday, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers urged an end to the price war. It's unclear how much the China EV price war will affect May sales, but it should definitely impact June deliveries.
Meanwhile, on Friday, President Donald Trump said China has "totally violated" the trade war truce. He didn't give specifics, but it's reportedly regarding China's rare-earth exports. On May 12, the U.S. and China slashed tariffs on each other, but it's only for 90 days. The tariffs don't directly affect China EV makers, which are shut out from the U.S., but a weaker domestic economy would hurt demand.
BYD Sales
BYD sold 382,476 vehicles in May, up 0.6% vs. April and 15.3% vs. a year earlier. Deutsche Bank had forecast May sales of 390,000.
Overseas sales hit 89,047, a sixth straight monthly record.
Among passenger EVs, sales of fully battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were 204,369, up 4.4% vs. April and 39.6% vs. a year earlier. Passenger plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) were 172,561, down 2.4% vs. April and 6.3% vs. a year earlier.
In April, BYD sold more BEVs than PHEVs for the first time in more than a year. The Tesla rival is now the clear global leader in BEVs as well as EVs overall.
BYD also sold 5,546 commercial EVs, including trucks, buses and more.
BYD's power battery and energy storage battery installations in May totaled about 28.476 GWh, up 7.55% vs. April and 101.1% vs. May 2024.
BYD's massive EV discounts, officially only through June 30, reportedly come amid rising dealer inventories. The move also follows BYD's push to offer advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) standard on all its EVs, even those below $10,000.
BYD is the low-cost producer thanks to its in-house production and ability to extract volume discounts from suppliers. Also, booming overseas sales help offset domestic pressure. BYD's exports generally have much-higher margins than China sales.
But there's little doubt that the magnitude of the cuts will hurt BYD's profits at least in the near term.
XPeng Deliveries
XPeng delivered 33,525 vehicles in May, down 4.3% vs. April but up 230.4% vs. a year earlier. Deutsche Bank predicted last week that XPeng would deliver 32,000, including some 4,000 EVs exported.
XPeng's hot start to 2025 reflects strong demand for the Mona M03 sedan, the first EV from XPeng's more-affordable Mona sub-brand. The just-launched Mona M03 Max variant offers high-end ADAS for less than $19,0000.
XPeng sells only BEVs for now. It will soon launch some extended range electric vehicles (EREV), essentially a form of PHEV.
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Li Auto Deliveries
Li Auto delivered 40,856 vehicles in May, up 20.4% vs. April and 16.7% vs. a year earlier. Deutsche Bank had forecast Li deliveries of 45,000. However, last week, Li Auto targeted Q2 deliveries of 123,000-128,000. That implied 89,061-94,061 deliveries for May-June combined, given the already-reported 33,939 for April.
Li Auto sells mostly EREVs, but does sell the BEV minivan Mega, with several BEV SUVs set to launch in the coming months.
Nio Deliveries
Nio delivered 23,231 vehicles in May, down 2.8% vs. April but 13% above a year earlier. The premium Nio brand delivered 13,270 EVs, down 31.1% vs. April and 35.4% vs. a year earlier. The mainstream Orvo brand delivered 6,281 Onvo L60 crossovers, up 42.75% vs. April. The low-priced Firefly brand, in its first full month, delivered 3,680.
Deutsche Bank had forecast overall Nio sales of 27,000, with 17,000 for the main Nio brand, 7,000 for Orvo and 3,000 for Firefly.
Zeekr Deliveries
Zeekr delivered 46,538 EVs in May, up 12.6% vs. April and beating Deutsche Bank forecasts for 40,000. That includes 18,908 for the Zeekr brand and 27,630 for the Lynk brand, which Zeekr Group recently took control over. Zeekr Group is part of Chinese auto giant Geely, which has offered to buy out Zeekr shareholders.
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Xiaomi Deliveries
Xiaomi deliveries topped 28,000, the eighth straight month above 20,000. The handset-turned-EV maker does not give specific sales figures. Deutsche Bank had forecast sales of about 28,000.
Xiaomi is production constrained for its only EV, the SU7, which is outselling the Tesla Model 3. It recently began selling a souped-up variant, the SU7 variant.
In May, Xiaomi unveiled the YU7 crossover, a Tesla Model Y rival, but official prices and preorders will start in July.
Tesla Deliveries
Tesla demand has continued to be weak in the second quarter, even in China, which had been a relative bright spot for the EV maker. Deutsche Bank expects Tesla China local sales of 39,000 in May, up 32% vs. April but down 30% vs. a year earlier.
China EV Stocks
BYD stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., dived 16.7% to 49.55 last week on the automaker's price war. Shares plunged from record highs below a buy point and the 50-day line.
XPeng stock gave up 3.45% to 19.31 last week, even with strong initial demand for the Mona M03 Max. XPEV has a 27.16 buy point, but the May 21 high of 22.85 could be an early entry. Shares are below the 50-day though.
Xiaomi stock, which also trades over the counter, sank 5.4% to 32.02 last week despite reporting strong earnings, falling further below a 34.26 cup-with-handle buy point, according to MarketSurge.
Li Auto stock fell 2% to 28.34 last week amid mixed earnings. LI stock now has a 29.73 cup-with-handle buy point.
Nio stock plunged 7.3% to 3.54, still in a long downturn and not far from April's five-year low.
Zeekr stock tumbled 9.9% to 26.29. ZK stock has a 30.30 cup-with-handle buy point but Geely-Zeekr buyout buzz adds to the uncertainty.
Tesla Stock
TSLA stock rose 2.1% last week to 346.46, but that was also the weekly low. On Tuesday, shares cleared a 354.99 aggressive entry but fell back below that on Friday.
Tesla stock has been surging on robotaxi hopes and CEO Elon Musk leaving the White House. A limited robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, is weeks away, reportedly on June 12.
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