June and first half-year performance report of major EV automakers—Li Auto takes the lead, overall progress not too optimistic

June and First Half-Year Performance Report of Major EV Automakers—Li Auto Takes the Lead, Overall Progress Not Optimistic

In June, automakers released their monthly and annual performance reports. Deliveries in June showed significant growth, with many automakers hitting new monthly delivery records. However, halfway through the year, most automakers are still far from their annual targets—few have even achieved one-third, let alone half. This puts considerable pressure on automakers, especially in the current economic climate.

Key highlights of the June and first-half rankings are as follows:

1.$LI AUTO-W(02015.HK) ranked first in both June and the first half of the year. However, it has achieved less than one-third of its initial annual target of 600,000 units. Despite fierce competition with Aito, Li Auto managed to reclaim the top spot.

2.Aito has been overtaken by Li Auto for three consecutive months, ranking second. Aito's ranking is interesting—when it first surpassed Li Auto, the rankings simply listed "Aito." Later, it required Aito + Zhijie to surpass Li Auto, and the rankings then used "Harmony Smart Drive." By May and June, even Aito + Zhijie couldn't surpass Li Auto, so the first-half rankings had to promote "Harmony Smart Drive" as the leader. Regardless of the cars' quality, the constant marketing hype with exaggerated claims and qualifiers is off-putting—though they're not the only ones doing this.

3.$NIO-SW(09866.HK) continues to play the dark horse role. After a series of moves, June deliveries hit a record high of 21,209 units, placing it fourth on the list—marking two consecutive months above 20,000. However, sustainability remains a concern.

4.ZEEKR and Leapmotor both surpassed 20,000 units, setting new monthly delivery records, but their shortcomings in autonomous driving are still evident.

5.Xiaomi's deliveries exceeded 10,000 as expected, but the company has recently faced scrutiny—Founder Edition glass replacements, factory shutdowns for upgrades, and declining sales have sparked widespread criticism.

6.XPeng remains "stable." While peers like Nio, ZEEKR, and Leapmotor are hitting new highs, XPeng is still "stable" at around 10,000 units. With the MONA model launching in July, unless it targets the ride-hailing market, XPeng's outlook remains challenging.

1. June Delivery Rankings:

2. First-Half 2024 Delivery Rankings:

3. June Automaker Deliveries, Ranked in Order

1.Li Auto: Delivered 47,774 new vehicles in May, up 46.7% YoY. Cumulative deliveries for 2024 reached 188,981 units, ranking first among Chinese new energy vehicle brands. Even with the adjusted target of 480,000, only slightly over one-third has been achieved—far from the initial 600,000-800,000 target.

Personal Take: Li Auto overtook Aito in Q2, mainly driven by the L6, which delivered over 20,000 units in June. Combined with the L7's 10,000+, the L6+L7 accounted for over 30,000 deliveries, while the 8+9 models totaled just 10,000. The M9 has clearly lost market share to Aito's M9, and competition will intensify in the second half. This isn't just about product strength—marketing matters too, and Huawei's marketing prowess is unmatched in China. Li Auto faces a tough road ahead.

2.Aito: According to Harmony Smart Drive's data (excluding Zhijie), Aito delivered 43,146 units in June—4,000 fewer than Li Auto. Its first-half performance also slightly trailed Li Auto.

Personal Take: Let’s see the second-half data. With Huawei's backing, Aito's marketing is formidable!

3.GAC Aion: Global sales in June were 35,027 units, down 22% YoY. Cumulative 2024 sales reached 177,366 units, down 11% YoY.

4.Nio: Delivered 21,209 new vehicles in May, up 98% YoY—a record high. First-half 2024 deliveries totaled 87,426 units, up 60.2% YoY.

Personal Take: After launching its new BaaS battery rental plan, Nio has set delivery records for two consecutive months, showing signs of a rebound. However, higher deliveries come with lower average selling prices, which may hurt margins.

5.Leapmotor: Delivered 20,116 units in June, up 52% YoY—a new record, breaking into the 20,000 range for the first time. First-half deliveries totaled 78,664 units.

6.ZEEKR: Delivered 20,106 units in June, up 89% YoY—a record high. First-half deliveries reached 87,870 units, up 106% YoY. Only slightly over one-third of the annual 230,000 target has been achieved.

7.XPeng: Delivered 10,668 units in May, up 24% YoY. First-half 2024 deliveries totaled 52,028 units, up 26% YoY. The annual target of 280,000 is clearly out of reach.

Personal Take: XPeng barely surpassed 10,000 units. My view remains: XPeng's issue isn't product quality—it's brand strength! The MONA model, launching in July with an expected price of 100,000-150,000 yuan, will likely underperform under the XPeng brand. It might as well be a trial run for Didi—rebranding it under Didi later would work better.

8.Neta: Delivered 10,206 units in June, down 16% YoY. Neta can't hold back anymore—it's time for an IPO to cash in on naive investors.

9.Xiaomi: Delivered 10,000+ units in June (no exact figure disclosed). With factory upgrades scheduled for July, deliveries should still exceed 10,000. However, after the initial hype around the SU7, the trolls are out in full force!

10.IM Motors: Delivered 6,015 units in June—a slight uptick, hence the eagerness to share data. Sigh, this company...

11.Voyah: Delivered 5,507 units in June, up 83% YoY. First-half sales totaled 30,376 units.

12.Zhijie: Delivered 2,995 units in June. No comment.