August New Forces Rankings: Leapmotor Wins Sixth Consecutive Title, NIO Hits Record High and Returns to Top Five

In August, China's automobile market continued its recovery trend, with overall consumer demand steadily releasing. Among them, leading new energy vehicle brands such as Leapmotor, Xpeng, and NIO all achieved record-high sales.

Among the emerging forces in the automotive sector, Leapmotor has shown the most rapid growth momentum. After surpassing 50,000 units in sales in July, Leapmotor's sales climbed to a new peak in August, reaching 57,000 units. Not only has it achieved monthly sales exceeding 50,000 units for two consecutive months, but it has also once again set a new personal record. With its continuously strong market performance, Leapmotor has secured the top spot in the new energy vehicle sales rankings for six consecutive months, solidifying its leading position in the segment.

Xpeng Motors also delivered an impressive performance in August, achieving a record high of 37,000 vehicles sold, surpassing AITO and reclaiming the second place in the new energy vehicle sales rankings, further enhancing its market competitiveness.

Notably, the total sales of HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving reached 44,579 vehicles in August, but specific sales data for each brand under its umbrella were not disclosed. Based on market analysis, we estimate that the AITO brand's sales in August were approximately 35,000 vehicles, temporarily ranking third on the new energy vehicle sales leaderboard.

In August, NIO achieved a significant breakthrough. Thanks to the strong sales of the Onvo L90 and the new NIO ES8 models, its monthly sales exceeded 30,000 units for the first time, setting a new record for the best monthly sales since the brand was established. In terms of market ranking, after this sales surge, NIO has most likely surpassed Xiaomi Auto and re-entered the top five of the new energy vehicle startups sales chart, demonstrating a significant rebound in brand growth momentum.

Xiaomi Auto has maintained a steady growth pace. After surpassing 30,000 units in sales in July, it continued to sustain this level in August, with market recognition gradually accumulating. To further stimulate consumption, Xiaomi Group CEO Lei Jun recently announced the launch of limited-time car purchase benefits of up to 48,000 yuan in September. Among these benefits, the lifetime free use of assisted driving will be included for three models: Xiaomi YU7, SU7, and SU7 Ultra, which is expected to further boost terminal sales.

Unlike the overall growth trend of new forces, Li Auto's sales in August are still on a downward trajectory, but compared to before, the decline has significantly narrowed. In response to the current market performance, Li Auto's official statement indicated that as the sales and service organizations gradually return to normal operations, the market momentum of their L series models will gradually recover; at the same time, the upcoming launch of the Li Auto i6 will become an important support for the brand's sales recovery.

▍Leapmotor, XPeng, and NIO reach record highs

In August, Leapmotor achieved another record high in total vehicle deliveries, reaching 57,066 units, an increase of over 88% year-on-year, demonstrating strong market growth momentum. This achievement also marks a new peak in Leapmotor's delivery performance, securing the top position for six consecutive months.

As of August 20th, the cumulative deliveries of Leapmotor's entire lineup have surpassed the milestone of 900,000 units. This remarkable achievement is greatly supported by its key models. Among them, the C10, C11, B10, and B01 models have become the core driving force of sales due to their outstanding product strengths. Notably, at the recent Chengdu Auto Show, the B10 introduced a new color option, "Morgan Pink," which has attracted the attention of many young consumers with its youthful design style. Another key model, the B01, also performed exceptionally well, achieving over 10,000 deliveries in its first month of release, further solidifying Leapmotor's competitiveness in the segment.

While sales are steadily increasing, Leapmotor's product matrix expansion and high-end strategy are also accelerating. Recently, media outlets revealed a conceptual image of Leapmotor's new SUV, the Leapmotor D16, which sparked widespread discussion among car enthusiasts upon release. In response to this, Leapmotor's Senior Vice President, Cao Li, took to Weibo to confirm that this model belongs to Leapmotor's latest D series and is positioned as a high-end model for the brand. It is reported that the price of this high-end SUV will target the 300,000 RMB range, which means Leapmotor is officially making a foray into the high-end new energy vehicle market and will compete directly with brands like Li Auto that focus on the high-end market.

In addition, Leapmotor will launch the brand new personalized strategic product, Leapmotor Lafa5, at the Munich Motor Show on September 8, further enriching its product lineup.

In August, XPeng Motors delivered a total of 37,709 new vehicles, representing a year-on-year increase of 169% and a month-on-month growth of 3%, setting a new record for monthly deliveries. From January to August, XPeng Motors cumulatively delivered 271,615 new vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 252%.

Specifically for each model, in August, deliveries of the Xpeng MONA M03 exceeded 15,000 units, with total deliveries surpassing 160,000 units, making it one of the core forces driving the overall brand sales. Since the launch of the Xpeng G7, cumulative deliveries have exceeded 10,000 units, and it has consecutively ranked as the weekly sales champion in its segment for four weeks.

In August, deliveries of the XPeng G6 increased by 11% month-on-month, demonstrating steady performance. Thanks to its strong product capabilities in intelligent features and range, the 2025 XPeng G6 has maintained strong sales momentum and steadily increasing deliveries since its launch. Meanwhile, the brand is accelerating its global expansion: in late August, the all-new XPeng G6 was officially launched and opened for pre-orders in Thailand. On August 27, the all-new XPeng P7 was launched, achieving over 10,000 firm orders within just 7 minutes of launch, setting a new record for the fastest new vehicle launch to surpass 10,000 orders in XPeng’s history.

In addition to boosting sales through the launch of new cars, XPeng Motors further stimulates market demand by offering purchase benefits. Reportedly, today the XPeng X9 is launching a limited-time comeback offer, introducing a powerful purchase benefit of 5-year zero interest and zero down payment, with a maximum interest subsidy of up to 55,700 RMB. This not only lowers the purchase threshold for consumers but also provides additional support for the model's sales.

In August, NIO delivered 31,305 new vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 55.2%, setting a new record high. Among them, NIO brand delivered 10,525 new vehicles; LEX brand delivered 16,434 new vehicles; Firefly brand delivered 4,346 new vehicles. The LEX L90 achieved 10,575 deliveries in its first month on the market, making it the fastest model in NIO's history to surpass 10,000 units sold.

At the Chengdu Auto Show, Shen Fei, president of Ledao Auto, stated in an interview that the Ledao L90 has driven the sales of the L60 to a new high. The all-new NIO ES8 has made the Ledao L90 more popular and sell more. These models complement each other, which is how the entire NIO group should be.

The Leidao L90 is the brand's focus in the short term, and other models will have to take a backseat. The third quarter of this year marks a turning point for NIO, as it is now entering a phase of gathering momentum for a renewed ascent and has weathered the storm cycle. However, "it is far from the time to pop the champagne."

▍Under ideal decline, the potential energy of the L series will gradually recover.

In August, Li Auto delivered 28,529 new vehicles, among which the monthly delivery volume of the Li Auto MEGA has surpassed 3,000 units. Moreover, the Li Auto i8, launched at the end of July, is accelerating its production progress, with an expected delivery of 8,000 to 10,000 units by the end of September. In September, the pure electric SUV Li Auto i6 will be launched with great momentum. This will be an all-around product designed for the 250,000 to 300,000 yuan price range, and it will achieve immediate delivery upon launch.

Since June, due to adjustments in the sales and service system as well as market factors, the sales volume of the L Series has fluctuated. In August, Li Auto optimized its sales system, moving to "23 regions directly managed by headquarters," and added two new departments: "Sales & Service Operations" and "Marketing." The company also reorganized the site selection team for stores, strengthened the training academy, and enhanced the delivery team. Currently, the new structure has been fully adjusted and has entered the normal operation stage. As the sales and service organization returns to normal operation, the momentum of the L Series will gradually recover.

At the same time, following the rollout of the Ideal VLA Driver Large Model with the Ideal i8 in August, it will be fully released to all AD Max models in September with the OTA 8.0 update. The Ideal Assistant intelligent agent will also undergo a comprehensive upgrade.

The CEO of Li Auto posted on Weibo today, stating, "2025 will be the first year Li Auto officially enters the pure electric SUV market. My personal goal is that by the end of this year, we can 'secure fifth place and strive for third' in the high-end pure electric segment. The target for the Li Auto i8 is to stabilize at over 6,000 units per month, and for the Li Auto i6, the target is to stabilize between 9,000 and 10,000 units per month. Including the Li Auto MEGA, the overall monthly sales of Li Auto’s pure electric models are expected to stabilize between 18,000 and 20,000 units. There are many strong competitors in the pure electric segment, and reaching this goal will definitely not be easy, but I am full of confidence!"

▍DeepBlue expects around 30,000 vehicles and aims to achieve profitability this year.

As of the submission deadline, the sales figures for Deep Blue in August have not been released. Referring to July, we estimate that Deep Blue's sales in August will be around 30,000 units, achieving a month-on-month increase.

At the Chengdu Auto Show, Li Pan, Brand Director of Deep Blue Auto, stated, "This year, Deep Blue will definitely break even and even make a profit. I am very confident. Because the company has done detailed calculations, and when Deep Blue's monthly sales reach between 27,000 and 30,000 vehicles, it can achieve break-even. We are roughly at this point."

From the perspective of sales structure, the current monthly sales of the Shenlan S05 are about 15,000 units; orders for the newly released Shenlan L07 in mid-August have doubled; the new L06 model will be launched in October or November.

The all-new Deep Blue S07 was unveiled at the Chengdu Auto Show, featuring the Huawei Qian Kun Intelligent Driving ADS SE as a standard across all models. It is positioned as Deep Blue Auto's global strategic product. "The Deep Blue S07 aims to achieve monthly sales of 8,000 to 10,000 units," said Li Pan. He added that Deep Blue Auto's monthly sales are expected to exceed 30,000 units, potentially reaching 40,000 units.