China: How emerging electric car makers are growing

By 2024, new manufacturers such as Li Auto, HIMA and GAC Aion have exceeded 350,000 sales and are preparing for a competitive 2025

Li Auto Mega

By: Francesco Barontini

Published by: Brian Potter

Jan 19, 2025 at 3:15am ET

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2024 ended with strong numbers for China's new plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle manufacturers, who together continue to gain ground in an increasingly competitive market.

Li Auto, HIMA and GAC Aion have established themselves as the leaders among the emerging brands, with combined annual sales exceeding 350,000 units.

Overall, according to the in-depth report by CarNewsChina.com, which in turn cites data from Sohu.com, the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) market has reached 11 million units by 2024.

Attention now turns to 2025, which promises to be just as dynamic. Some manufacturers have already started a new 'price war' with the aim of increasing their market share during the peak sales period preceding the Lunar New Year. At the same time, new models and strategies are expected to build on their success.

Li Auto, a record debut

Li Auto ended 2024 with a new record: 58,500 vehicles delivered in December alone, an increase of 16.21 per cent over the previous year. Overall, the manufacturer achieved an annual volume of over 500,000 vehicles, a 33% increase over 2023.

This achievement marks a historic milestone, making Li Auto the first emerging manufacturer to surpass this threshold. Even more so considering that the debut in the pure electric market only came in spring 2024, with the Mega MPV.

Li Auto Mega

However, success is not without its challenges. Li Auto has revised down its delivery forecast from 2024 due to the delayed launch of three electric models. Nevertheless, the brand remains an undisputed player in the Chinese NEV scene.

Aion Hyper SSR GAC 2023

HIMA and GAC Aion follow closely behind

HIMA, a brand still unknown to us, took second place with 445,000 units sold in 2024. The Aito sub-brand proved to be the main sales driver, with models such as the M9 and the new M7 exceeding 200,000 and 190,000 units respectively. The company is now looking to the future with new launches planned for 2025, such as the Aito M8 and the Maextro S800.

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The GAC Aion brand, on the other hand, recorded a slight decline from 2023, ending 2024 with 354,000 vehicles sold. Despite the decline, the brand maintains a strong position and aims to bounce back with an aggressive strategy in the new year.

Motore Leap T03

Leapmotor T03

And the others?

In the rest of the ranking, the growth of Leapmotor, Stellantis' new partner, is particularly striking. Thanks to the agreement with the Italo-French giant, Leapmotor has set up production of electric city cars and SUVs in Italy in order to attack the most popular and at the same time least occupied segment, that of small electric cars. Volumes are also growing for Xpeng, Zeekr and Nio, three brands that are very popular and eagerly awaited on this side of the ocean.

The ranking of emerging Chinese brands (China market)

Brands Volumes 2024 Li Auto 500,500 HIMA 445,000 GAC Aion 354,000 Leapmotor 293,700 Deepal 243,900 Zeekr 222,100 Nio 221,900 Xpeng 190,000 Xiaomi 135,000 Voyah 85,700 Avatr 73,600 IM Motors 65,500

Why everyone is looking at the Chinese market:

China enters the race for autonomous cars

In 2024 almost half of all new cars came from China

China's electrified cars sell more than 1.5 million units

2025 will be the year of the "electric breakthrough" in China

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