February deliveries from China’s new-energy upstarts exposed a market in mid-cycle: a small group held ground while many others suffered sharp month-on-month drops amid seasonal weakness and product transitions.
Leapmotor (零跑) emerged top among the new entrants with 28,067 deliveries in February, narrowly ahead of Li Auto (理想) at 26,421. Together they outpaced a congested middle tier led by NIO’s three brands (20,797 combined) and Xiaomi (just over 20,000), while Huawei-backed AITO (问界) appears to have halved to roughly 18,000 in February after a strong January; XPeng languished at 15,256.
The broad pattern is clear: no new entrant cleared 30,000 units and several of the headline names saw month-on-month falls of 20% or more. The declines reflect normal seasonality — the post‑Chinese New Year trough — but are amplified by model transitions and aggressive finance promotions that have become industry standard.
Finance offers once used as tactical levers have hardened into table stakes. “Seven‑year low‑interest” plans and purchase‑tax guarantees, once differentiators, are now widely available as OEMs try to move metal and ready inventories for new launches. From Leapmotor and Tesla to BYD and Huawei’s ecosystem brands, makers rolled out or refreshed购车 (purchase) incentives in early March.
Product timing will therefore decide the near term. Leapmotor bets on mass-selling C‑ and B‑series models and an A10 entry car below RMB100,000 to anchor volumes, while also preparing D‑series higher‑margin models to push the brand upmarket. Li Auto is defending volume via price cuts on its incumbent L series and simultaneously repositioning around a higher‑end, AI‑heavy L9 flagship intended more to shore up brand perception than to generate immediate volume.
NIO’s rebound depends on the high‑priced ES8 which delivered most of its brand sales, underscoring exposure to a single model. Xiaomi saw delivery pain as its first‑generation SU7 wound down and the factory retooled for a new SU7 in April. XPeng’s woes reflect a thin model mix; the company is supplementing its range with extended‑range versions of key models and consolidating autonomous‑driving R&D, hoping technology and new variants can arrest the slide.
Legacy automakers and their EV imprints remain important counters: Geely reported 206,200 units in February with Zeekr contributing 23,867; BYD moved 190,200 with niche marques such as Fangchengbao (方程豹) and Denza visible in the numbers; Great Wall and others are juggling multi‑brand portfolios. These incumbents are not immune to cost pressure from rising raw‑material and memory‑chip prices, which make margin management central.
Looking beyond monthly swings, three longer trends will shape competitiveness through the rest of 2026. First, advanced driver assistance is migrating from a luxury add‑on to a mid‑market expectation, forcing firms to either scale ADAS affordably or cede pricing power. Second, the field is bifurcating around energy strategies — large‑battery pure electric solutions versus range‑extender and plug‑in hybrids aimed at easing consumer charging anxiety — and 2026 looks set to be a decisive year for range‑extender rollouts. Third, with China Automotive Association forecasting a slower but still positive 15.2% NEV growth for 2026, the race will be less about expanding a growing pie and more about taking share from rivals.
The immediate inflection point is March and the spring product wave. A successful launch cadence — both in supply and in market reception — will determine whether the febrile discounting of early 2026 was a one‑off inventory clear‑out or the start of a margin squeeze that forces consolidation. For investors and suppliers, the metric to watch is not only units sold but the quality of those sales: gross margins, dealer inventories and cash flow, which will separate resilient players from those that merely chase volumes with cheap finance.