In the recently concluded month of May, "growth" was the prevailing theme. From a sales perspective, Leapmotor led the pack among emerging auto brands with 80,000 units sold, while Hongmeng Zhixing also rebounded to over 40,000 units. Besides Leapmotor and Hongmeng Zhixing, other leading emerging brands all recorded sales exceeding 30,000 units in May. Among new brands from traditional automakers, Zeekr, Seres, Aion Hyper BU, and Fangchengbao each sold over 30,000 units, with the rest generally hovering between 10,000 and 20,000 units, indicating a gap compared to the leading emerging brands.

01 Emerging Forces: Leapmotor Exceeds 80,000 Units, All Leading Brands Surpass 30,000

Leapmotor continues to dominate the emerging auto sector with a significant lead. In May, Leapmotor delivered 81,569 units, marking an 81% year-on-year increase and setting a new monthly sales record for the brand. Among these, the A10, launched in late March, surpassed 20,000 deliveries in May, ranking among the top in its segment. The flagship model D19, launched in mid-April, received over 10,000 new orders in May, prompting Leapmotor to ramp up D19 production to ensure timely deliveries. This month, the first MPV model D99 will open for pre-sale, with the all-new C10, C11, and C16 set to launch soon. With steady production increases and new product introductions, Leapmotor is poised to advance towards monthly deliveries of 90,000 or even 100,000 units.

Ranking second is Hongmeng Zhixing, which operates with five brands. In May, Hongmeng Zhixing delivered 46,122 units, achieving both year-on-year and month-on-month growth. The past two months have been significant for Hongmeng Zhixing, with multiple model launches and deliveries. The Aito M6 surpassed 20,000 deliveries in its first month; the Shangjie Z7 series commenced deliveries on May 30, with over 2,000 units delivered in two days; the all-new Aito M9 secured over 20,000 firm orders within 24 hours of launch; the Smart V9 garnered over 10,500 firm orders within 48 hours of launch. Subsequent releases of these orders' production capacity may lead to substantial sales growth for Hongmeng Zhixing in the coming months.

Apart from these two, other leading emerging brands recorded sales between 30,000 and 40,000 units in May. As Xiaomi did not disclose detailed monthly delivery figures, a ranking of these brands' May sales cannot be provided. Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun recently explained why Xiaomi does not disclose detailed data, stating that he does not want Xiaomi Auto's monthly delivery results to be caught in a competitive spiral with peers, believing that meeting expected targets is sufficient.

Among them, Xiaomi Auto's May deliveries still exceeded 30,000 units. Previously, Xiaomi Auto had multiple months with sales exceeding 30,000 units, peaking at over 50,000 units. After launching the new-generation SU7 in March, Xiaomi introduced the YU7 standard version and YU7 GT in May, with the standard version lowering the entry barrier for the YU7 and the GT version aiming for the high-end market. With the addition of new models, Xiaomi's sales are expected to rebound further. Of course, the biggest sales growth driver for this year is the extended-range SUV set to launch in the second half of the year.

NIO delivered 37,705 units in May, up 62.3% year-on-year and 28.4% month-on-month. Among these, the NIO brand delivered 20,013 units, up 50.8% year-on-year; the Onvo brand delivered 12,029 units, up 91.5% year-on-year and 124.8% month-on-month; the Firefly brand delivered 5,663 units, up 53.9% year-on-year and 13.7% month-on-month. In the first five months of this year, NIO delivered a total of 150,526 new vehicles, up 68.7% year-on-year. May marked a period of intensive new product launches for NIO, with models such as the ES9, Onvo L80, 2026 L90, and 2026 Firefly being introduced. The enrichment and iteration of the product lineup provided the core impetus for sales growth, with these models achieving expected order performance. These orders will be reflected in the coming months' sales, suggesting that NIO may experience significant sales growth in the near future.

Li Auto delivered 33,350 units in May, down 18.37% year-on-year. Among these, with sustained production increases, the Li L6 surpassed 20,000 deliveries for three consecutive months, ranking among the top in its segment. In May, Li Auto launched and delivered the all-new L9. Within two weeks of its launch, the Livis version of the new L9 secured over 10,000 orders, accounting for nearly 90% of total orders. The arrival of the new L9 marks the beginning of Li Auto's 2026 product rollout, with the company set to introduce the all-new L8, a five-seat flagship SUV, which will join the new L9 in solidifying Li Auto's position in the high-end new energy SUV market.

XPeng delivered 32,158 units in May, up 3.73% month-on-month. XPeng's steady sales growth in May was primarily driven by the sustained performance of its existing product lineup, with models like the 2026 P7+ and MONA M03 collectively supporting the 30,000+ unit baseline. The new model GX, launched at the end of May, also contributed with its competitive pricing, securing 24,863 firm orders within 12 hours of launch. This model is expected to become a new growth driver for XPeng's monthly sales.

Additionally, Seres delivered 2,052 units in May, up 66% year-on-year. Seres' primary market is overseas, particularly in the Middle East, with the company reporting sustained growth in global orders. From January to April, Seres delivered 1,028, 1,298, 1,480, and 2,035 units, respectively, totaling 7,893 units year-to-date. Despite the overall growth trend, Seres needs to accelerate efforts to achieve its annual target of 30,000 units.

02 New Brands from Traditional Automakers: Zeekr Soars, Four Brands Surpass 30,000 Units

Zeekr delivered 34,377 units in May, up 81.8% year-on-year and 8.15% month-on-month, setting a new record. This growth was primarily driven by strong sales of the Zeekr 9X and Zeekr 8X. Among these, the Zeekr 8X delivered 5,757 units in May. According to Zeekr, the 9-series and 8-series models accounted for nearly 50% of total sales, directly boosting the brand's average transaction price per vehicle by 52.4% year-on-year. In July, deliveries of the Thousands of Miles and Vastness H9 (Qianli Haohan H9) variant of the Zeekr 8X and the 8X Yao Ying (8X Yao Ying) will commence, indicating that Zeekr has entered a new phase of "volume and price growth."

Following closely is Seres, which sold 33,243 units in May, up 30% year-on-year, marking the third consecutive month of sales exceeding 30,000 units. Among these, the Seres S05 sold 18,866 units, up 102.71% year-on-year, maintaining its strong momentum of surpassing 10,000 units per month since launch; the Seres L06, which surpassed 10,000 orders in April, saw sales climb steadily to 6,723 units in May, up 30% month-on-month; the all-new Seres S07, featuring the Huawei ADS laser radar version launched in April, saw sales rise 27.8% month-on-month in May. Overall, with the support of popular and new models, Seres is showing signs of improvement. The overseas market is also a highlight for Seres, with global sales reaching 130,531 units in the first five months of this year, up 15% year-on-year, including 28,704 units sold overseas, up 167% year-on-year, accounting for 20% of total sales.

Aion Hyper BU sold 33,140 units in May, up 23.76% year-on-year and 1.26% month-on-month. The Aion i60 was the absolute sales leader, surpassing 10,000 units sold again; the N60, in its first full month of deliveries, sold over 5,000 units. Aion expects that with the ramp-up of amorphous alloy electric drive production, sales may surpass 10,000 units next month. Based on the performance of the i60 and N60, Aion's sales are showing signs of recovery, though Hyper BU remains on the periphery of the market.

Fangchengbao also rebounded to over 30,000 units in May, selling 30,196 units, up 139.7% year-on-year and 3.6% month-on-month. The Titan 7 and Titan 3, priced relatively lower, were the main sales drivers for Fangchengbao, while the Leopard 5 and Leopard 8 accounted for a small proportion of sales. After establishing a foothold in the boxy SUV market with the Titan series, Fangchengbao plans to launch the S sedan series in the third quarter, further enriching its personalized product lineup.

Denza sold 16,303 units in May, with no specific model sales disclosed. Overall, sales are on the rise, hitting a new yearly high. The Denza D9 continues to sell well, with the N9 and Z9GT also contributing to growth. Additionally, Yangwang sold 286 units in May.

Epark Technology sold 24,830 units in May, up 42% year-on-year; cumulative deliveries in the first five months reached 109,600 units, up 28% year-on-year, with notable overseas market performance, up 194% year-on-year. Epark's current product strategy involves collaborating with Huawei ADS. In mid-May, the two sides signed an upgraded strategic cooperation agreement, expanding from product technology cooperation in intelligent driving and intelligent cockpits to comprehensive collaboration encompassing "deeper R&D, more models, better operations, and stronger promotion." The large six-seat SUV Epark M8, a result of this collaboration, has been unveiled and is scheduled for launch in the third quarter, with Epark Technology setting a monthly sales target of over 10,000 units for this model. In addition to the M8, Epark and Huawei ADS plan to launch two more models equipped with Huawei ADS intelligent automotive solutions this year, which will be a major sales highlight for Epark Technology.

Arcfox sold 17,943 units in May, up 32.82% year-on-year. The Arcfox T1, a pure electric compact car, was the main sales driver, with the Alpha S5 and Alpha T5 also performing well. In May, Arcfox launched two major models: the Arcfox Beta S3 and the Wendao V9. The Beta S3, utilizing a battery swap format, lowered the entry price to RMB 79,800, while the Wendao V9 represents Arcfox's latest attempt to move upmarket after establishing a solid foundation. The sales contributions from these two models will be reflected this month.

Voyah, gradually hitting its stride, delivered 13,003 units in May, up 30% year-on-year; cumulative deliveries in the first five months reached 62,041 units, up 35% year-on-year. Following the launch of the Taishan Ultra as its "intelligent driving ace," Voyah introduced the "space ace" Taishan X8 in May, which secured over 50,000 orders during the pre-sale phase, indicating strong potential to become a hit model. With the scale delivery of this model, Voyah's sales may experience another significant increase this month.

With the scale delivery of the LS8, IM Motors surpassed 10,000 units in sales. In May, IM Motors delivered 10,023 units, roughly flat with April; cumulative sales in the first five months reached 31,700 units, up 114.65% year-on-year. From the LS6 and L6 to the LS9 and now the LS8, IM Motors has established relatively comprehensive coverage in the RMB 200,000-350,000 price segment. Currently, the most crucial task for IM Motors is to maintain sustained strong sales of at least one model, which is vital for stabilizing its market position.

Avatr sold 7,336 units in May, up 38.9% month-on-month. With the launch of the new Avatr 12 and Avatr 06T, Avatr's sales have started to increase, resuming growth. Additionally, Avatr's IPO prospectus filed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last year has lapsed, with the company stating it will resubmit as soon as possible. In this context, Avatr needs impressive sales figures to demonstrate its potential, and with the upcoming launch of new products, it should be able to return to monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units.