Recently, several car companies have successively released their sales data for 2023. From the published sales figures, it is evident that domestic brands have performed quite well. Many car companies have relied on the opportunities of new energy transformation and set new sales records in their brand history, with strong growth momentum. Meanwhile, mainstream joint venture brands are facing relatively greater pressure.
Facing the competitive landscape of the Chinese automotive market, several domestic car companies set sales growth targets at the beginning of 2023, with some new forces in the industry even calling for a doubling of deliveries. As the annual data of various car companies is released, the completion rate of the annual KPI is clear at a glance. Next, let’s see how the sales performance of major car companies is doing. Who is the dark horse, and who is falling behind? Causing a clear division in the new forces camp Looking at the delivery results announced by the new car manufacturers in 2023, only Ideal Auto achieved its annual sales target, with monthly sales exceeding 50,000 vehicles. NIO, Leapmotor, Xiaopeng, and Jinko, among other car companies, also achieved good results. However, the performance of NIO Auto declined significantly, ranking at the bottom for five consecutive months. As a leading member of the new car manufacturers, Ideal Auto delivered a total of 376,000 new cars in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 182.2%, exceeding the annual sales target of 300,000 vehicles. With impressive sales performance, Ideal Auto CEO Li Xiang also made a bold statement: “In 2024, we will challenge even higher targets, with annual sales of 800,000 units, monthly sales of 100,000 units, and monthly sales of 30,000 units for a single model.” The reason for Ideal Auto’s impressive performance in 2023 is closely related to its rich product lineup. Ideal’s L series covers mid-to-large-sized and full-size SUV models, catering to different consumer groups. In addition, Ideal Auto’s first pure electric MPV model, MEGA, will be released in March, potentially becoming a growth point for Ideal’s sales in 2024.
Nio, after experiencing a complete product generation switch, became the world’s first smart electric vehicle brand to complete the vertical switch of its entire product lineup. After the release of the all-new Nio ES6, Nio’s sales also saw a significant increase, becoming the brand’s new “hot seller” and a major breakthrough in the high-end pure electric vehicle market. Although Nio delivered 160,000 new vehicles in 2023, a 30.7% year-on-year increase, its performance among new carmakers remains very good, achieving 64% of its 250,000 annual sales target. As of December 31, 2023, Nio has delivered a total of 449,600 new vehicles. Recently, Nio has made new moves in the battery swapping field with traditional car companies, signing battery swapping cooperation agreements with Changan Automobile and Geely Holding to jointly promote high-quality development and low-carbon transformation in the automotive industry. The hot product is the Nio ET9, with a pre-sale price of 800,000 yuan (112550$) and deliveries scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2025, expected to reshape the landscape of the new energy executive flagship market. Next, looking at Zeekr Automobile, it delivered 144,200 new vehicles in 2023, a 29% year-on-year increase, surpassing Xiaopeng Motors and becoming the third in sales among new carmakers, with a historical cumulative delivery of over 300,000 vehicles. Although Zeekr Automobile’s sales target completion rate in 2023 was 72.1%, its delivery volume has entered the top tier of new carmakers. In March 2023, Zeekr Automobile’s entire product lineup was refreshed, receiving good market feedback due to its strong product strength. In July of the same year, Zeekr unveiled its important self-developed achievement, the “Clover” central integrated electronic electrical architecture, with the first model, Zeekr C10, making its debut and starting pre-sales, becoming the main sales force for Zeekr Automobile in 2024. Furthermore, from the recent delivery structure of Zeekr, the higher-positioned C-series models have become the main selling products, especially after the launch of extended-range models, which have increased the average selling price per vehicle and optimized financial data such as revenue and gross profit margin.
For 2024, the founder of Lixiang Automotive, Zhu Jiangming, stated that the annual sales target is 300,000 to 400,000 units. The first global strategic model C10 will be launched in 2024, followed by the C16 in the middle of the year and more new products in the second half of the year. Similar to NIO, Xiaopeng Motors also experienced many challenges in 2023, but with good results. After organizational adjustments and optimization of the supply chain and channels, sales have continued to rebound in the second half of the year. The total new car deliveries for 2023 were 141,600 units, a year-on-year increase of about 17%, achieving 71% of the annual target. In terms of products, Xiaopeng G6 and G9 maintained strong sales, and the recently launched Xiaopeng X9, a flagship model built on the Smart Electric Platform, equipped with core technologies such as full-range 800V, integrated aluminum casting, and XNGP, is expected to become a new growth point for Xiaopeng Motors’ sales. In addition, Xiaopeng Motors announced the launch of the XNGP advanced urban assisted driving “Pengyou Circle”, which now covers 243 cities, making it the industry leader, and may help drive significant sales growth for Xiaopeng in 2024. Unlike Lixiang, NIO, Lixiang, and Xiaopeng, Neta Motors was the only mainstream new force car company to experience a decline in sales, with a cumulative sales of 127,500 units in 2023, a 16% year-on-year decline, far from the annual sales champion of the new forces in 2022. Regarding the decline in sales, Neta Motors CEO Zhang Yong summarized and reflected on it on social media. He stated that the transition from old to new products at Neta Motors was not well coordinated, and the pricing of new products was too high. Although adjustments were made in the second half of the year, the company missed the opportunity. As a new energy brand incubated by traditional car companies, GAC Aion achieved a cumulative sales of 480,000 units in 2023, with a completion rate of 96% of the annual target. In the highly competitive automotive market, this achievement is already very good. The brand has now formed a dual-brand matrix of “AION Aion + Hyper Hao Bo” and is worth looking forward to in 2024. It is worth mentioning that Lantu Motors also achieved its annual sales target in 2023, with a total sales of 50,600 units, a year-on-year increase of 160%. Its good performance is mainly due to the upgrade of the Lantu FREE and Lantu Dreamer, as well as the launch of the Lantu Chasing Light PHEV. With more sales channels gradually opening up, the future looks promising.
Geely Auto delivered a total of 118,700 vehicles in 2023, a 65% increase year-on-year. As of now, Geely has delivered over 190,000 new vehicles. The AITO WENJIE series achieved an annual sales volume of 94,380, a 23.89% increase year-on-year, and is on the verge of breaking the 100,000 sales mark. Looking at the sales data released by the new forces in the car-making industry, only NIO and Lantu have achieved their annual sales targets. Xpeng, NIO, and Naza have completion rates of less than 80%, and with the fierce competition in 2024, the gap among the new forces will continue to widen. Rapid growth of traditional domestic car companies Since Chinese brand car companies have accelerated in the new energy track, their market share in the domestic market has continued to rise in recent years. In 2023, most of the top traditional domestic car companies achieved positive growth. BYD and Geely Auto achieved their 2023 sales targets, while GAC, Chery, Chang’an, and SAIC had completion rates of over 80%. BYD’s 2023 sales target was 3 million vehicles, and the actual sales for the whole year were 3.024 million vehicles, a 61.8% increase year-on-year, successfully achieving the production and sales targets set at the beginning of the year, and winning the “Sales Champion” of 2023 for car companies.
Since stopping the production of fuel vehicles in March 2022, BYD has focused on pure electric and green license plate plug-in hybrid vehicles. Sales have shown a booming trend, and the brand matrix now includes multiple brands such as Wangchao, Ocean, Tangshi, Yangwang, and Fangchengbao, covering a wide range of new energy vehicles in various price ranges and categories, with a cumulative sales volume exceeding 6.3 million vehicles. In the overseas market, BYD achieved a 334% year-on-year growth in 2023, with annual exports exceeding 240,000 vehicles. With the momentum of recent months, it is possible to aim for annual sales of 4 million vehicles or even higher in 2024. Geely sold a total of 1.6865 million vehicles in 2023, an increase of about 18% compared to the previous year, exceeding the annual target of 1.65 million vehicles. The sales of new energy vehicles also saw a significant increase, reaching 487,500 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 48.31%. Reports suggest that Geely’s sales target for 2024 is 1.9 million vehicles, an increase of about 13% compared to the previous year, with new energy vehicle sales expected to increase by over 66% to a target of 810,000 vehicles. With the arrival of the heavyweight new cars such as the Lynk 08, Jike 007, and Galaxy E8, Geely’s main line of new energy vehicles is becoming clearer. According to recent performance announcements from GAC Group, both the production and sales of new vehicles exceeded 2.5 million vehicles in 2023, an increase of 2.7% compared to the previous year, achieving 93.4% of the annual target. Thanks to the rise of independent models such as GAC Trumpchi and GAC Aion, the sales of independent brands reached approximately 890,000 vehicles in 2023, a historical high with an increase of nearly 40% compared to the previous year. In the face of such a competitive market, achieving double-digit sales growth for GAC Passenger Cars is indeed not easy, and the sales growth of GAC Aion has also led to a good increase in the new energy vehicles under GAC Group. As a “science and technology” car company, Chery Group achieved “twelve consecutive increases” in sales in 2023, with a cumulative sales volume of 1.88 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 52.6%, achieving 94% of the 2 million sales target. As a result, Chery Group has accumulated over 13 million global car users, with 3.35 million of them being overseas users.
Chery Automobile Group has achieved impressive performance in overseas markets, with its export sales volume exceeding 937,000 vehicles in 2023, ranking first in China for 21 consecutive years. Chery Group has formed four major passenger car brands: Chery, Exeed, Jetour, and iCAR, and has also completed the layout of its new energy product matrix. Under the “Yao Guang 2025” strategy, Chery has focused on technology, forming five major areas: Mars architecture, Kunpeng power, Lion smart cabin, Da Zhuo intelligent driving, and Galaxy ecology, enhancing its competitive strength. Similarly, Changan Automobile, with a total sales volume exceeding 2.55 million vehicles in 2023, has achieved a year-on-year growth of 8.7% and surpassed its annual sales target of 2.8 million vehicles by 91%. Changan’s new energy sales volume exceeded 470,000 vehicles, reaching a historic high, and its overseas sales volume exceeded 230,000 vehicles, also setting a new record. In terms of new energy, Changan has established three intelligent electric vehicle brands: Changan Qiyuan, Deep Blue, and Avita, and launched five new energy models in 2023, including Qiyuan A07, Qiyuan A05, Qiyuan Q05, Deep Blue S7, and Avita 12. Despite its strong capabilities, Changan has chosen to take an open approach, collaborating with NIO on battery swapping services and signing a memorandum of cooperation with Ganfeng Lithium, while also investing in a new independent business company established by Huawei. SAIC Group, with a sales volume of 5.02 million vehicles, ranked first in domestic automobile group sales, achieving 84% of its annual sales target of 6 million vehicles, despite a 5.31% year-on-year decline.
SAIC Group’s sales decline is mainly due to the reduction of market share of joint venture brands. The production and sales report shows that SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC General Motors have declined by 8.01% and 14.45% respectively, while sales of independent brands reached 2.775 million vehicles, accounting for over 55% of the group’s sales. In addition, the overseas market remains a strong point for SAIC Group. In 2023, overseas sales reached 1.208 million vehicles, an 18.8% increase compared to the previous year. Independent brand overseas sales accounted for nearly 92%, and new energy vehicle sales accounted for nearly 24%. Amid the wave of electrification, SAIC Group has announced a new energy “three-year action plan,” established Zhiji Auto and Passenger Car Company, and refined the positioning of independent brands such as Zhiji, Fevan, Roewe, MG, and Wuling, forming a new energy brand lineup that covers all market segments domestically and internationally. In the field of new energy vehicles, SAIC Volkswagen and Zhiji are the two main forces of SAIC Group. The ID family achieved an annual sales of 109,700 vehicles, while independent brand cumulative sales reached 38,300 vehicles, a 665% increase compared to the previous year. In addition, SAIC Group announced the DMH super hybrid system, and the new Roewe D7 has strong competitiveness. Finally, looking at Great Wall Motors, the total sales in 2023 reached 1.2307 million vehicles, a 15.29% increase compared to the previous year, achieving 77% of the annual sales target. The cumulative sales of new energy vehicles reached 262,000, benefiting from a lower base, a year-on-year increase of 98.74%; the cumulative sales in overseas markets reached 316,000, a year-on-year increase of 82.48%. In 2023, Great Wall Motors began a comprehensive transformation to new energy, with multiple new energy products from its five major brands, including Haval, Wey, Ora, Tank, and Pickup, entering the market. The new intelligent electric four-wheel drive technology, Hi4, brings “the experience of four-wheel drive at the price of two-wheel drive” to the market. However, Great Wall Motors still needs to continue to exert efforts in 2024. Pressure on joint venture brands remains high. Under the wave of new energy, mainstream joint venture brands are almost all under pressure. Although terminal products have seen significant price reductions, market share continues to decrease and the downward trend cannot be stopped. According to data released by FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota, Toyota’s cumulative sales in China in 2023 were 1.701 million, a year-on-year decrease of 12.36%, with FAW Toyota’s annual sales at 800,000 and GAC Toyota’s annual sales at 901,000. Despite achieving good results in its joint ventures in China, Toyota is still in a downward trend, mainly due to poor performance in the new energy field, with its market share in the fuel vehicle market being squeezed. Currently, the Camry not only has to face competition from similar fuel vehicles, but also has to compete with new energy vehicles such as the Deep Blue SL03 and the BYD Dolphin, and the Corolla and Levin are in the same situation.
Of course, Toyota’s two joint ventures in China have achieved good sales performance. In addition to the support of brand influence, there is also credit for the preferential prices of its models. After all, Toyota’s popular models have rarely had discounts in the past. However, the new energy models such as bZ4X and bZ3 contribute very little to the sales volume. Data shows that Honda’s total sales in China in 2023 reached 1.234 million new cars, a decrease of 10.12% compared to the previous year, slightly better than Toyota. Guangzhou Honda’s cumulative terminal sales reached 621,000 units, while Dongfeng Honda’s cumulative terminal sales reached 613,000 units, with little difference between the sales of the two joint ventures. Although the market share of new energy vehicles is continuously increasing, the market for fuel vehicles cannot be ignored. With good reputation accumulated over the years, Honda’s domestic models are very popular, such as CR-V, Accord, Civic, HR-V, and Fit, all of which are hot sellers in the same market segment and also offer hybrid models with strong power performance. However, facing the hot new energy vehicle market, Japanese brands like Honda have shortcomings. The limited number of new energy vehicle categories leaves consumers with little choice, ultimately dragging down sales. Another Japanese joint venture brand, Dongfeng Nissan, achieved a cumulative terminal sales of 791,000 units in 2023. Looking at the products, the sales of the Sylphy exceeded 370,000 units, becoming the first choice for family users due to its fuel efficiency, comfort, and technology. The Teana, with its core technologies of super variable engine, super smart connection, and super smart driving, also sold over 90,000 units. In addition, the X-Trail of Dongfeng Nissan had an annual sales volume of over 100,000 units, and the young market-oriented Kicks also performed well. Currently, Dongfeng Nissan has advantages in various segmented markets with its rich product offerings, but it also needs to focus on new energy products to keep up with the pace of development. Looking at SAIC Volkswagen, the total sales in 2023 reached 1.214 million units, with the sales of new energy models exceeding 130,000 units, a 32% year-on-year increase, ranking first in the sales of pure electric joint ventures. The ID. family has achieved sales of over 10,000 units for six consecutive months.
In 2023, SAIC Volkswagen’s highlights were clear. The company made steady progress in electric vehicles, with the ID.3 becoming a phenomenon and driving continued growth for the ID.4 X and ID.6 X. FAW-Volkswagen achieved a cumulative terminal sales of 1.91 million vehicles in 2023, a 4.8% year-on-year increase. On December 1, 2023, the 27 millionth vehicle, the ID.7 VIZZION, rolled off the production line at the Foshan MEB smart factory. SAIC-GM sold 1.01 million new vehicles in 2023, a 14.45% year-on-year decrease. It’s worth noting that this is not the first time SAIC-GM’s annual sales have declined. In terms of new energy vehicles, SAIC-GM achieved a 100% year-on-year increase with 100,000 new energy vehicles sold. Its Buick Velite model broke through the 10,000 vehicles sold in a single month. As for joint venture car companies, according to the latest sales data, Beijing Hyundai achieved a cumulative sales of 257,000 vehicles in 2023, a 2.8% year-on-year increase. Looking at specific models, the Elantra family’s sales exceeded 110,000 vehicles, a 19% year-on-year increase. The fifth-generation Tucson L and Mistra had a combined sales of over 100,000 vehicles, a 12% year-on-year increase, with Mistra’s monthly sales exceeding 5,000 vehicles. In terms of exports, Beijing Hyundai’s exports in 2023 exceeded 10,000 vehicles. Overall, the rise of domestic brands has brought significant impact to joint venture car companies. The 2023 automobile market has shown characteristics of diversification and intensified competition. Looking ahead, the automobile market will continue to see technological innovation and market changes, and major car companies will seek new opportunities in this process.