On September 1, major emerging automakers sequentially unveiled their August sales reports. From a broad perspective, the August auto market surpassed the traditional lull preceding the 'Golden September and Silver October' sales peak, with several emerging players achieving record sales. Leapmotor, XPENG, Xiaomi, and NIO continued to excel. However, some emerging automakers experienced another sales downturn in August. The competitive landscape among these newcomers remains dynamic and ever-changing.

Across the entire emerging automaker sector, Leapmotor stands out as the most prominent. After first surpassing the 50,000-unit sales milestone in July this year, Leapmotor's market performance in August further soared, with sales reaching 57,066 units, marking a substantial 88% year-on-year increase. This represents the eighth consecutive month of sales growth for Leapmotor and the second month in a row with sales exceeding 50,000 units. Currently, Leapmotor has undeniably emerged as the leader among emerging automakers.

From a fundamental standpoint, Leapmotor's success stems from the exceptionally high cost-effectiveness of its products. Data from third-party platforms indicates that over the past seven months, cumulative sales of the Leapmotor C10 and C11 have each surpassed 40,000 units, while the Leapmotor C16, B10, and T03 have also accumulated over 30,000 units in deliveries. Even the B03, launched in July, has exceeded 10,000 units in deliveries. Among these models, the prices of the Leapmotor C10, B10, B01, T03, and others are generally kept within 150,000 yuan, positioning them as affordable choices. Media reports have highlighted that, given Leapmotor's current growth trajectory, it aims to challenge the 60,000-unit monthly delivery mark in September.

During its financial results conference on August 18, Leapmotor once again raised its sales expectations, adjusting its full-year sales target to a range of 580,000-650,000 units, with an estimated sales volume of 170,000-180,000 units for the third quarter. This adjustment also underscores Leapmotor's confidence.

AITO's momentum is slightly weaker but still exhibits steady performance. Data reveals that AITO delivered a total of 40,012 units in August, representing a 2% month-on-month decline but a 28% year-on-year increase.

It is reported that AITO initiates a high-temperature break every August, during which the Seres Super Factory halts operations for 10 days to provide workers with rest and to carry out high-temperature technical upgrades on the production line. This has, to some extent, impacted AITO's delivery progress.

Nevertheless, under these circumstances, AITO's two high-end models continue to perform exceptionally well. Among them, the AITO M9 delivered 10,067 units, securing its position as the sales champion in the market segment above 500,000 yuan for the 17th consecutive month; the AITO M8 delivered 21,537 units, solidifying its leading position in the 400,000 yuan market segment. According to statistics, these two models account for 79% of AITO's total sales.

It is worth mentioning that the recently launched AITO M8 Pure Electric Edition surpassed 15,000 reservations within 72 hours. The all-new AITO M7 will also open for pre-orders on September 3 and officially launch on September 22. With the arrival of these two models, AITO will continue to consolidate its dominant position in the high-end large SUV market and may even further expand its market share.

Since the beginning of this year, XPENG has demonstrated increasing momentum, with sales climbing steadily. In August, XPENG's sales reached 37,709 units, marking a staggering 169% year-on-year increase and setting a new record for single-month deliveries. As a result, XPENG has not only achieved over 30,000 units in deliveries for the tenth consecutive month but has also secured its position among the top three emerging automakers for the second time.

From XPENG's sales composition, in August, the cost-effective XPENG MONA M03 delivered over 15,000 units, becoming the absolute sales mainstay. XPENG officially stated that the XPENG G7 has accumulated over 10,000 units in deliveries since its launch and has secured the weekly sales championship in its class for four consecutive weeks. This indicates that the XPENG G7 is also rapidly increasing in volume. Recently, it was reported that within 7 minutes of the launch of the all-new XPENG P7, reservations surpassed 10,000 units. From this perspective, the all-new XPENG P7 also demonstrates remarkable market competitiveness. He Xiaopeng stated that with the delivery of the all-new P7, XPENG aims to steadily exceed 40,000 units in monthly deliveries starting from September.

It is worth mentioning that XPENG's super extended-range strategy is also about to commence, with the first extended-range model, the XPENG X9, already unveiled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. At that time, XPENG will be able to compete with both pure electric and extended-range models, and its market performance can be expected to further improve.

NIO has joined the 30,000-unit sales club, delivering a total of 31,305 units in August, a 44% month-on-month increase and a 55% year-on-year increase, setting a new historical record. The low-priced entry of the L90 under the ONVO brand has been the biggest contributor.

Official data shows that NIO's main brand delivered 10,525 units in August; the firefly brand delivered 4,346 units, and the ONVO brand delivered 16,434 units. Among them, the ONVO L90 achieved over 10,500 units in its first full month of deliveries, becoming the fastest model under NIO to surpass 10,000 units. As a result, ONVO has surpassed NIO's main brand for the first time to become the sales mainstay.

After experiencing success with the price reduction strategy for the ONVO L90, the new generation NIO ES8 has also adopted a cost-effective approach. On August 21, the official pre-sale price for the whole vehicle purchase of the new generation NIO ES8 was announced to start from 416,800 yuan, while the battery leasing scheme pre-sale price starts from 308,800 yuan. This price represents a maximum discount of 120,000 yuan compared to the previous model. NIO CEO William Li once stated that the pre-order situation for the all-new ES8 is better than that of the ONVO L90 during the same period.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, NIO Chairman William Li has demanded that the company strive to achieve 50,000 units in deliveries each month, aiming for a small milestone of 150,000 units over three months. This means completing 70% of last year's total deliveries in just the fourth quarter of 2025. Given the current situation, with a pragmatic pricing strategy, if NIO can overcome the long-standing challenge of ramping up production, there is still room for its delivery volume to rise.

Xiaomi Auto has consistently maintained a stable delivery rhythm. After surpassing 30,000 units in deliveries in July, Xiaomi Auto once again achieved over 30,000 units in deliveries in August. According to multiple sources, Xiaomi Auto delivered 24,000 units of the Xiaomi SU7 in August, with the remaining 6,000 units contributed by the Xiaomi YU7.

Xiaomi Auto's ability to sustain high delivery volumes is inseparable from its rapid production ramp-up. Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun once commented on Weibo that the production line is currently operating 24 hours a day, with the second-phase factory commencing production 45 days ahead of schedule and further acceleration planned for September. Additionally, according to supply chain sources, Xiaomi Auto's full-year delivery volume for 2025 is expected to reach 420,000 units, a 20% increase from the official target of 350,000 units set at the beginning of the year. Among them, the first-phase factory is expected to handle 340,000 units in capacity, while the second-phase factory currently under construction plans to add an annual capacity of 80,000 units.

However, due to the massive backlog of orders for the Xiaomi SU7 and Xiaomi YU7, despite accelerated production, Xiaomi Auto still faces the challenge of long delivery cycles. Currently, Xiaomi Auto's focus remains on clearing the previously accumulated orders.

In contrast to the overall growth trend among emerging automakers, Li Auto experienced another decline in sales in August. Data shows that Li Auto delivered a total of 28,529 units in August, a 7% month-on-month decline and a 41% year-on-year decline. It is worth mentioning that after being surpassed by XPENG in July, Li Auto was once again surpassed by NIO in August in terms of deliveries.

Currently, Li Auto is facing internal and external challenges. The L series products are continuously under attack by competitors, loosening its extended-range market foundation, while attempts to open up new growth points have been hindered by setbacks in the pure electric market with new products. Under such circumstances, the sales pressure on Li Auto continues to mount.

Some public opinion points out that Li Auto's next move should be to make every effort to sell the underperforming i8 and the more critical i6 successfully, holding out until the major refresh of the L series next year. According to Chairman Li Xiang, Li Auto aims to 'secure the top five and compete for the top three' in the high-end pure electric market segment, with the Li Auto i8 targeting a stable monthly sales volume of 6,000 units and the Li Auto i6 targeting a stable monthly sales volume of 9,000-10,000 units. Including the Li Auto MEGA, Li Auto's pure electric models aim for an overall stable monthly sales volume of 18,000-20,000 units.

Given Li Auto's current situation, it is difficult to say whether it can achieve this goal. Among them, the Li Auto i6, which will be launched in September, will become a critical variable.

Summary

By examining the sales figures of emerging automakers, it is evident that Leapmotor, XPENG, and NIO, which have performed well in the market, not only possess blockbuster models but have also made strides in the lower-tier market segments. In other words, 'affordability with substance' is the key to these three emerging automakers achieving sales growth. Additionally, AITO has maintained stable sales by leveraging advantages such as the HarmonyOS ecosystem and intelligent driving. Xiaomi Auto has garnered significant sales by capitalizing on its full ecosystem synergy and user base. Conversely, Li Auto, which once gained popularity with its 'refrigerator, TV, and sofa' features, has recently experienced a consecutive three-month decline in both year-on-year and month-on-month sales.

Currently, as competition in the auto market intensifies and the consumer environment changes, consumer attitudes towards car purchases are gradually shifting from 'chasing novelty' to rationality and pragmatism. Against this backdrop, various marketing gimmicks employed by automakers are continuously being 'disenchanted' by the market, making it difficult to effectively influence consumer decisions. Market performance has proven that NIO, which emulated its peers by adopting a 'cost-effectiveness' strategy, has made the right move this time.

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