Golden September and Silver October?

This year, these two months feel more like "Golden September and Silver Sorrow."

According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, October passenger car retail sales fell about 26% year-on-year, while wholesale sales of fuel vehicles dropped by more than 50%, and the traditional peak season essentially failed to materialize. The new forces, however, were lively: Leapmotor exceeded 100,000 units for the fourth consecutive month, XPeng and Xiaomi both stood at 50,000, Harmony Intelligent Mobility and NIO were still hovering around 30,000, and Li Auto was at 29,000 with a month-on-month decline. The polarization among the top players is quite serious—something that can be seen at a glance from the timing of their sales data releases.

Leapmotor's global deliveries in October reached 106,127 units, up 51% year-on-year, marking the fourth consecutive month of monthly sales exceeding 100,000 units.

As of the end of October, Leapmotor's cumulative global deliveries had approached 2 million units, and its 2 millionth complete vehicle is about to roll off the line in November.

In October 2026, XPeng Group delivered a total of 50,237 new vehicles, up 22% month-on-month and 20% year-on-year, setting a record high for monthly deliveries.

Among them, 13,326 units were delivered in overseas markets, up 166% year-on-year, setting a record high for monthly deliveries in overseas markets. However, the "lao deng" controversy surrounding the October launch of the MONA L05 did make XPeng's new car, starting at 139,800 yuan, stand out. As for whether it will affect sales—well, price is the first consideration for young people.

In October 2026, Xiaomi Auto deliveries exceeded 50,000 units, breaking through the 50,000 mark for the first time, rising in a staircase pattern from 30,000+ in August and 40,000+ in September to 50,000+ in October for three consecutive months.

The Pengcheng extended-range model carried the increment in its first month, completing the product line beyond pure electric. With production capacity keeping pace, the delivery cycle for many models has shortened, and some can even be picked up the same day.

But third-party data shows that subsequent orders declined month-on-month (unofficial, for reference only). The early dividend from locked-in orders is fading, and the overall market is also cooling. At the same time, as sales rise, complaints about delivery service and minor faults have also increased.

In October, NIO delivered 34,246 new vehicles, including 18,125 from the NIO brand, 8,383 from the ONVO brand, and 7,738 from the firefly brand.

From January to October 2026, NIO delivered a total of 334,547 new vehicles, up 38.5% year-on-year, setting a historical high. As of now, NIO has cumulatively delivered 1,332,139 new vehicles.

Harmony Intelligent Mobility delivered 33,537 units in October. Actually, in a market with an average price above 400,000 yuan, this is not bad, and the cumulative 1.6 million units is also solid.

But last October it was 68,216 units—nearly halved year-on-year—and it has also declined for four consecutive months month-on-month, which is a bit awkward. AITO remains the base, but it also fell 12.6% in the first three quarters, and Luxeed fell even more noticeably. The incremental volume from new "World" brands such as Stelato, Maextro, and Shangjie has not yet filled the loss of momentum from the mainstay.

However, although the data is not great, the foundation of HarmonyOS cockpit and smart driving is there, and R&D investment is not just talk. In the long run, the direction will not be bad.

In October, Li Auto delivered 29,025 units, with cumulative deliveries of 1.86 million vehicles. MEGA monthly deliveries exceeded 3,000 units, and the base is stable; orders for the 2026 i6 in 72 hours exceeded the same period last year, showing that the facelift has shown sincerity.

But overall it is just passable. Now XPeng has exceeded 50,000. Back then, Li Auto first broke 50,000 monthly sales in December 2023, delivering 50,353 vehicles that month.

However, the launch details of the i6 this time left a deep impression on me. The person in charge said that because everyone's purchasing enthusiasm was so high, the APP crashed. It seems that the i6 is Li Auto's hope this year.

In October, Deepal Automobile's global sales were 32,602 units, with monthly sales once again exceeding 30,000, up 8.01% month-on-month.

In October 2026, the Zeekr brand delivered 32,483 units, up 51.6% year-on-year.
From January to October, it delivered a total of 320,887 units, up 94.4% year-on-year, nearly doubling; the completion rate of its annual target of 300,000 units exceeded 106%, making it the earliest brand among mainstream car companies to exceed its full-year target ahead of schedule.

As of press time, Voyah's sales have not yet been released. Based on this year's sales trend, it is estimated that October will still hover around 10,000 units.

Compared with Voyah's vagueness, Dongfeng Yipai Technology announced its latest sales data earlier.

From January to October 2026, Yipai Technology cumulatively delivered 178,674 complete vehicles. Among them, overseas markets continued their growth momentum, with cumulative exports up 36% year-on-year. With the continuous renewal of the dual-brand product lineup and the accelerated implementation of intelligent technologies, Yipai Technology has further consolidated its development foundation and released new growth momentum.

On October 23, the Dongfeng Aeolus L8+ was launched, with a limited-time trade-in price of 129,900 to 159,900 yuan. It is equipped with the Tianyuan Smart Driving T800 and a 4-speed Mach hybrid system, with a comprehensive range of more than 1,500 kilometers. On October 30, the 2027 Yipai 007 was launched at the Wuhan Auto Show, with a limited-time subsidy price starting at 109,900 yuan and a maximum CLTC range of up to 675 kilometers.

Even more eye-catching are the high-end models. Since batch deliveries began on October 18, the Yijing X9 delivered 3,612 units in two weeks, with mid- and high-configuration models accounting for more than 95%, and an average transaction price exceeding 340,000 yuan.

Huajing Auto delivered 7,507 units in October 2026, and its Huajing S achieved steady growth for six consecutive months, with deliveries hitting a new high.

From the trend, deliveries from May to October were 3,603, 5,689, 7,203, 7,306, 7,416, and 7,507 units respectively, maintaining monthly growth. However, competition in this segment is indeed intense, and breaking 10,000 is a threshold Huajing Auto must pass.

Overall, under the "Silver October" peak season, competition in the domestic new energy track is fierce, with new forces and the new energy divisions of traditional car companies competing on the same stage.

Multiple brands continue to push into overseas markets, and going global has become an important growth direction—Leapmotor, XPeng, and Xiaomi, for example. Next, each company will continue to compete for market share through new products, pricing strategies, and overseas layouts. #Car companies' October sales data