Written by / Li Yue

Produced by / Five-Star Car Review

As the auto market strides into the second half of 2025, companies are unveiling their "mid-year results," revealing several key highlights. Among the new forces, Leapmotor has delivered over 220,000 vehicles in the first half, consistently leading in monthly performance. Despite Xiaomi Motors' impressive order volumes, production ramp-up might not shake Leapmotor's position this year.

In the realm of traditional automakers, BYD has surpassed 2 million sales, steadily approaching its annual target of over 4 million vehicles, closely followed by SAIC Motor. These two enterprises are the only ones in the domestic market to cross the 2 million mark. As for luxury brands, June sales figures are yet to be announced, but previous data indicates a downward trend compared to last year, with no luxury brand surpassing 300,000 vehicles in the first half.

01 New Force Rankings Set

Among the new force automakers, Leapmotor, a long-time leader, set a new monthly delivery record in June with 48,000 vehicles, up over 138% year-on-year, totaling 221,600 vehicles in the first half. In June, Leapmotor reached a cumulative delivery of 800,000 vehicles and is on track to achieve 1 million by the end of 2025.

Li Auto delivered 36,000 new vehicles in June, down 24% year-on-year and 11.2% month-on-month, totaling 111,000 in Q2 and 204,000 in H1. After two years of robust L-series sales, Li Auto's performance is waning, with similar new vehicle launches diverting target users.

However, Li Auto's six-seat i8 and five-seat i6 pure electric SUVs, set to launch in July and September respectively, will enrich its extended-range-dominated lineup. Although not yet launched, market feedback is positive, potentially propelling Li Auto back to the top.

Xiaomi hasn't released specific data in the past two months, with deliveries exceeding 28,000 in May and over 25,000 in June, totaling around 300,000 vehicles. Notably, the YU7's order volume approached 300,000 units, but most will be fulfilled in 2026, not impacting this year's results.

XPeng Motors witnessed rapid growth, delivering 34,611 new vehicles in June, up 224% year-on-year and 3.24% month-on-month, totaling 103,000 in Q2, a new quarterly record, and 197,000 from January to June, surpassing 2024's annual total. With the G7 launch in H2, XPeng is poised to reach 350,000 or even 400,000 deliveries. If all new forces hit 400,000, the landscape will be revolutionized.

NIO delivered 24,925 new vehicles in June, up 17.5% year-on-year and 7.3% month-on-month, including 14,593 under the NIO brand, 6,400 under Lido, and 3,932 under Firefly. Lido and Firefly set new 2025 highs, with NIO delivering 114,000 vehicles in H1. The term "Wei-Xiao-Li" (NIO, XPeng, Li Auto) is outdated, as NIO's high product positioning narrows its target group, trailing Leapmotor. Xiaomi, leveraging its brand appeal, tops the new force rankings, with NIO fighting to maintain a top-five position in H2.

02 BYD and SAIC Lead the Pack

Traditional automakers were slower, with some brands announcing H1 results on July 1.

BYD led the pack, selling 382,600 vehicles in June, a new June record. Passenger vehicle sales reached 377,000, up 11% year-on-year, with 90,000 sold in overseas markets, up 229.8% year-on-year. FANGCHENGBAO sold 18,903 vehicles, up 50.1% month-on-month, and DENZA sold 15,783, similar to May. The Dynasty and Ocean series contributed over 380,000 vehicles, nearly matching leading new force brands' annual sales.

BYD's H1 sales totaled 2.146 million vehicles. While the pace toward 5 million is slow, its leadership remains unchallenged.

SAIC Motor sold 2.053 million vehicles in H1, with independent brands up 21.1% and new energy vehicles up 40.2%. SAIC-GM-Wuling sold over 750,000 vehicles, up over 32% year-on-year, while SAIC Passenger Vehicle sales surged 54%. Whether it can overtake BYD in H2 is keenly anticipated.

Changan Automobile set a new H1 sales record of 1.355 million vehicles, with 450,000 new energy vehicles sold, up 48.8% year-on-year. Fuel vehicle sales remained stable, with the CS75 series exceeding 100,000 units and the Eado series up 14.4% year-on-year.

Geely Automobile Group (including Geely, Zeekr, and Lynk & Co) sold 236,000 vehicles in June, up 42% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month. New energy vehicle sales reached 122,000, up 86% year-on-year, accounting for 52% of total sales. Due to exceeding expectations, Geely raised its target to 3 million vehicles.

Based on H1 data, leading new forces are progressing steadily, with XPeng Motors showing the most growth. Among traditional brands, independent brands are shining, with Changan and Geely narrowing the gap with BYD, and Chery leveraging its export strength. Most ordinary joint venture and luxury brands haven't released data yet, but most have seen declines, with only a few experiencing growth.

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