Not long ago, DoNews wrote in “2023, lithium prices plummet, lithium companies suffer | Annual Review” that the sharp drop in lithium prices in 2023 has dealt a major blow to many lithium companies, and the hope for industry recovery is pinned on whether the downstream new energy vehicle market will prosper. According to the latest data from market research company RhoMotion, in November 2023, global electric vehicle sales reached a new historical record of 1.4 million units. Sales of electric vehicles in China increased by 25%, while sales in the United States and Canada increased by 43%, and sales in Europe decreased by 3% compared to the same period in 2022.
Although not the fastest-growing, China’s market still dominates in terms of total volume. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in November, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China both exceeded one million for the first time: production was 1.074 million units, sales were 1.026 million units, with year-on-year growth rates of 39.2% and 30% respectively, and a market share of 34.5%. Of these, domestic sales reached 929,000 units, an increase of 11.7% month-on-month and 33.9% year-on-year. Looking at the whole year, from January to November, China’s production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 8.426 million units and 8.304 million units respectively, with year-on-year growth rates of 34.5% and 36.7%, and a market share of 30.8%.
According to the production and sales reports released by various car companies, DoNews has summarized the top 15 sales rankings of new energy vehicle companies from January to November 2023. BYD still holds the first position, with Tesla China coming in second with sales of 82432 vehicles, and Geely Auto in third place with sales of 65034 vehicles.
BYD, the sales champion, achieved the following sales results from January to November this year: – BYD, the sales champion, sold the following units from January to November this year: – From January to November this year, BYD, the sales champion, sold the following units: – January to November this year, BYD, the sales champion, sold the following units:
According to the chart, BYD’s sales have been steadily increasing this year. In November 2023, sales were approximately 301,900 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 31.02%. The cumulative sales for the first 11 months were approximately 2.6834 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 64.8%. The main contributors were the Dynasty Network and the Ocean Network under BYD, which sold 288,500 vehicles in November, a year-on-year increase of 27.4%; Tengshi Automobile sold 11,800 vehicles in November, a significant increase of 243.2%. Previously, BYD had set an annual sales target of 3 million vehicles, which can be achieved as long as sales reach 316,600 vehicles in December. In comparison, Tesla’s global delivery target for 2023 is 1.8 million vehicles, and as of the end of the third quarter, it has delivered a cumulative total of 1.324 million vehicles, reaching 73.6% of its target, also on track to be achieved. Geely Automobile has set a sales target of 1.65 million vehicles for 2023, and as of November, it has already achieved 1.536 million vehicles. With sales continuing to rise, it can be said that their performance is good and the target is about to be achieved.
The performance of the JiKe brand is worth attention. From January to August this year, sales surged from 3116 vehicles to 12303 vehicles, and then remained stable month-on-month. However, on October 16, JiKe announced that all its models would have limited-time purchase, limited-time additional purchase, and replacement benefits. As a result, sales in the same month also slightly increased.
Guangqi Aion has sold 434,056 cars in the past 11 months, an increase of 80% year-on-year, but there has been a significant surge in sales after March. Its sales target for 2023 is to reach 500,000 to 600,000 units, but it seems a bit uncertain to reach 500,000 units. Since its production began in April 2019, Guangqi Aion has sold nearly 950,000 units, and is about to break the one million mark.
Great Wall Motors performed well, selling 31,170 new energy vehicles in November, a 142.32% increase compared to last year. In the first 11 months, Great Wall Motors sold a total of 232,000 new energy passenger vehicles, a 91.94% increase year-on-year.
Speaking of new forces, the former “Xiaoli Wei” should now be “Li Xiaowei” in terms of sales volume. In the first 11 months, Ideal Car delivered a total of 325,700 vehicles, exceeding the annual sales target of 300,000 vehicles and becoming the only car company in the form to achieve its target ahead of schedule. Li Xiang, Chairman and CEO of Ideal Car, said that with the increase in market demand, they will continue to challenge the goal of delivering 50,000 vehicles in December.
In November, Xiaopeng Motors delivered a total of 20,041 new cars, a 245% year-on-year increase. This marks the second consecutive month of delivering over 20,000 cars, setting a new monthly delivery record. However, due to lower sales in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, Xiaopeng Motors has only delivered a total of 121,500 cars by the end of November 2023, achieving only 61% of the annual sales target of 200,000 cars. It is unlikely to be achieved, but next year’s performance can be anticipated.
NIO car sales have been fluctuating, with only a breakthrough of over 20,000 vehicles in July and an average of just over 10,000 vehicles in other months. NIO has delivered a total of 142,000 new cars this year, a 33.1% increase compared to last year, but only 56.8% of the annual sales target of 250,000 vehicles has been achieved. It can be said that there is no hope for NIO.
As we enter the New Year, the sales figures for December from major car companies have been gradually released. The results show that some are happy while others are worried. For example, “Lixiang One” delivered 50,353 new cars in December, an increase of 137.1% compared to the same period last year. Xiaopeng Motors delivered 20,115 new cars, a 78% increase, while NIO delivered 18,012 new cars, a 13.9% increase. The gap between them is very obvious, and it remains to be seen whether this gap will continue to widen or narrow in 2024. After looking at the sales rankings, let’s take a look at the sales rankings of different price ranges for each car model, with the top five in each category. First, in the price range below 100,000 RMB, it comes as no surprise that the Hongguang MINIEV is still in the top position, but the BYD’s “Seagull” is not far behind, making it a strong competitor.
In the range of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan (28120$), BYD is the absolute leader, with its Qin, Yuan, and Dolphin models occupying the top three positions, followed only by GAC Aion Y with equivalent sales.
Entering the price range of 200,000 to 300,000, Tesla is the absolute leader. Model Y and Model 3 occupy the first and third positions, while BYD’s Han ranks second. Other brands lag significantly behind these two.
1. In the end, in the large domestic SUV models of over 300,000, it is amazing that Ideal occupies the top 2 spots. It can be said that in 2023, Ideal Motors is really “killing it and winning big”. 2. Ideal Motors is astonishingly occupying the top 2 spots in the large domestic SUV models of over 300,000. It can be said that Ideal Motors is really “killing it and winning big” in 2023. 3. Ideal Motors is dominating the top 2 spots in the large domestic SUV models of over 300,000. It can be said that Ideal Motors is really “killing it and winning big” in 2023. 4. Ideal Motors, astonishingly, occupies the top 2 spots in the large domestic SUV models of over 300,000. It can be said that in 2023, Ideal Motors is really “killing it and winning big”. 5. In the end, in the large domestic SUV models of over 300,000, it is amazing that Ideal occupies the top 2 spots. It can be said that in 2023, Ideal Motors is really “killing it and winning big”.
It is worth mentioning that the sales of the Wanjie M7 reached an amazing 17,039 units in November 2023, surpassing the Ideal L7 to the top of the monthly sales rankings. As a vehicle jointly created by Huawei and Saic, the new version of the Wanjie M7 has risen rapidly in the second half of the year. After looking at the sales, next, let’s take a look at the top five cost expenditures of car companies in the first three quarters of this year.
BYD and Ideal Car have both achieved practical success, with one firmly holding the top spot in sales and the other emerging as a leader among new energy vehicle companies in the luxury car market. Particularly, Ideal Car has managed to minimize expenses in sales, general, and administrative costs, while achieving the highest sales, demonstrating impressive cost control abilities. According to Tianyancha, BYD has applied for as many as 1070 valid patents in 2023 alone.
Ideal Car has a close relationship with a technology company called Beijing Rockwells, which is one of Ideal Car’s subsidiary companies. The company has applied for 122 valid patents this year.
Xiaopeng Motors applied for 119 patents in 2023, similar to Ideal Motors. The content of the patents is also more similar to Ideal, showing the focus of new forces on enterprise development.
NIO is not doing well here, with a lot of expenses but no sales performance. NIO has accumulated over 15 billion in losses in the first three quarters of this year. It is clear that NIO must achieve a balance between profits and losses as soon as possible in order to maintain competitiveness. In the last few days of 2023, there will be two heavyweight new energy vehicles released, which DoNews believes may lead the new energy market in the first half of 2024. First, on December 26th, the Wanjie M9 was released at Huawei’s winter full-scenario event, which was referred to as “the best SUV under 10 million yuan” by Yu Chengdong. The extended range version has a comprehensive range of 1402 kilometers; the pure electric version has a range of 630 kilometers. The vehicle is fully equipped with a 10-screen, car-grade projection giant screen; in terms of intelligent driving, in addition to the 192-line LiDAR, it also has 12 ultrasonic radars, 7 millimeter-wave radars, and Huawei officially announced that by the end of December, it will be able to drive in urban NCA areas nationwide. Then, on December 28th, at Xiaomi’s car technology event, although Lei Jun injected a bit of caution about the price, the technology was impressive. The V6 series super motor can reach 21,000 rpm, the battery is an 800V silicon carbide high-voltage platform created in collaboration with CATL, and there is also the innovative inverted cell technology, all of which are highly anticipated. Interestingly, both of these vehicles are considered “smartphone factory-made cars.” With the basic transportation needs being met, new energy vehicles are becoming more “intelligent,” turning into large mobile phones on wheels. In the future, market competition may shift from “factories” to “offices,” just like in the previous era. New energy manufacturers with advantages not only in hardware but also in software will lead the new trend.