Nio's better performance may have been helped by a more attractive BaaS program. Xpeng was hit more by the price war, while Li Auto was dragged down by sluggish initial acceptance of the Li Mega and 2024 models.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) saw strong delivery growth last month and was the best performer among the trio of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers listed in the US.
The EV maker delivered 15,620 vehicles in April, up 31.64 percent from March and up 134.60 percent year-on-year, according to data it released today.
The deliveries included 8,817 SUVs and 6,803 sedans, Nio said.
Nio currently sells eight models -- ES8, ES7, ES6, EC7, EC6, ET7, ET5, ET5 Touring -- of which the first five are SUVs and the last three are sedans. Deliveries of the ET9 sedan, unveiled last December, will begin in the first quarter of 2025.
In the January-April period, Nio delivered 45,673 vehicles, up 21.15 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
At the end of April, Nio's cumulative deliveries since inception stood at 495,267 vehicles, close to the 500,000-unit mark.
Nio outperformed Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) and Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) on a month-on-month basis in April, after often seeing weaker growth than the latter two previously.
Li Auto delivered 25,787 vehicles in April, up 0.41 percent year-on-year but down 11.03 percent from March, according to data it released today.
Xpeng delivered 9,393 vehicles in April, up 32.69 percent year-on-year and up 4.07 percent from March.
Nio's better growth may have something to do with the fact that it launched a more attractive battery rental service BaaS (battery as a service) in mid-March in response to the price war.
By comparison, Xpeng, which primarily targets the mass market, has been hit more by the price war, while Li Auto has been dragged down by the sluggish initial acceptance of the Li Mega MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) and the 2024 models.
On March 14, Nio tweaked its BaaS battery rental service, lowering the monthly fee while largely cutting down on one of the major barriers that had previously prevented potential customers from opting for the service.
Nio is offering two ways to purchase its vehicles; customers can buy the entire vehicle including the battery pack as they would any other EVs, or they can buy just the vehicle body and rent the battery, the latter of which is known as the BaaS program.
If a customer chooses to purchase a vehicle under the BaaS program, the purchase threshold will be lowered by at least RMB 70,000 ($9,700).
Nio's move to lower the BaaS monthly fee while allowing customers to recoup a significant portion of what they previously paid when they buy out a battery in the future has been key to the service's increased appeal.
Previously customers were unable to recoup any of the fees they had previously paid when they bought out their batteries.
For Xpeng, the intense price wars so far this year have forced it to offer continued discounts on a number of models.
Li Auto, for its part, has become more subdued since the Li Mega launched on March 1, as the model has significantly underperformed expectations, and the 2024 models don't appear to have helped it maintain its previously strong momentum.
Li Auto launched the Li L6 on April 18, offering both Pro and Max trims, starting at RMB 249,800 and RMB 279,800 respectively, making it its least expensive model.
Yesterday, Li Auto said cumulative orders for the Li L6 exceeded 20,000 units, 12 days after the model's launch.
Li Auto was originally targeting sales of 800,000 vehicles in 2024, but with the Li Mega falling short of expectations in its early days on the market, that goal will be difficult to meet.
Li Auto now expects to sell between 560,000 and 640,000 units for the full year of 2024, down from the previous figure of 650,000 to 800,000, local media outlet Xchuxing said in a March 21 report, citing meeting minutes of the company.
Nio, which is currently targeting the premium market with a price range of RMB 300,000 to RMB 600,000, is expected to launch its mass-market sub-brand Onvo (Ledao in Chinese) in the middle of this month.
Xpeng said earlier today that it will debut its new brand MONA (Made of New AI) in June. That's a slight delay from previously announced plans.
MONA is targeting the market with prices in the range of RMB 100,000 to RMB 150,000, according to Xpeng's previous announcement.
Li Auto will launch several more battery electric vehicle (BEV) models within the year, and it has no plans to launch a new brand.
Li Auto said in a February 26 earnings call that looking ahead to the next five years, it will not have any models priced below RMB 200,000 in its lineup.
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