Chinese NEV Startups Shine in April 2025: Leapmotor Dominates

Chinese auto market witnessed a remarkable performance from the NEV startups in April. The monthly sales champion is Leapmotor with an impressive 41,039 deliveries.

As a matter of fact, since the beginning of 2025, Chinese NEV startups has undergone significant changes. Li Auto, the 2024 sales champion, lost its champion position. XPENG seized the January and February sales champion, while leapmotor took the March and April sales champion. Let's take a detailed look at the list.

Leapmotor Dominates with 41,039 April Deliveries, Up 173% YoY  

Leapmotor solidified its lead by delivering 41,039 vehicles in April (+173% YoY). The sales was boosted by its C-series SUVs (C11, C10, C16) and the newly launched B-series. The B10, introduced on April 10, has already achieved 10,000 deliveries till now, with 50% opting for the lidar editions. The right positioning strategy of Leapmotor to democratize advanced ADAS, enhancing its sales surge in the previous months. The upcoming B01 with lidar onboard, making its debut at Shanghai Auto Show, is expected to improve Leapmotor’s sales in 2025

XPeng: 35,045 Units, Marking 273% YoY Growth

XPeng took the second place in terms of sales. It delivered 35,045 vehicles in April (+273% YoY, +6% MoM). You know what, it is its six consecutive months achieving above 30,000 units sales. The MONA M03 compact EV, launched last June, surpassed 100,000 cumulative deliveries, while the 2025 version of P7+ sedan hit 50,000 units since its November 2024 debut.  

Li Auto Holds Steady Slaes in Premium SUV Market Segment

Li Auto delivered 33,939 vehicles (+31.6% YoY) in April, bringing its accumulative sales to 1,260,675 units. Despite ranking slide, its L9 maintained dominance in the RMB 400,000-500,000 (USD 55,300-69,100) large SUV segment.  

Xiaomi Auto April Deliveries Dip 3.4% MoM  

Xiaomi Auto sold over 28,000 SU7 sedans in April, down 3.4% from March’s 29,000 units.  

NIO, VOYAH, Avatr Post Strong Gains  

- NIO achieved 23,900 deliveries (+53% YoY), in which 19,300 units of NIO-brand models and 4,400 units from its Onvo sub-brand. The company is expecting that the launch of its Firefly compact EV would bolster domestic sales in near future.

- VOYAH delivered 10,019 units (+150% YoY), with Dreamer MPV being the hot-seller.  

- Avatr managed to sold 11,681 units (+122.6% YoY), thanks to Huawei-powered intelligent driving assistant technologies.  

Market Dynamics  

From a general outlook of Chinese auto market, we can see a clearer picture of how the market goes. Chinese EV automakers are capturing market segments with their unique understanding of their targeting users. With pricing agility and advanced ADAS for majority of users, Leapmotor is winning the market. While, Li Auto didn’t lose its targeting premium market segment with its family-focused SUVs.

Besides, the legacy automakers, such as BYD, Geely, Chery, and Changan, are accelerating NEV pushes. The NEV start-ups are facing an incredible intensified pressure to differentiate themselves with tech (lidar democratization), vertical integration (Xiaomi’s smart ecosystem) and smart pricing strategies.  

*(Exchange rate: RMB 7.2278 = USD 1)*