New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China

henrik said:

How do you explain BYD sales crumbling, when they are supposed to be dominating the domestic market with their bewildering number of models and exporting like crazy with their fleet of ships?

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very simple. The competition is fierce in China and NEV penetration hasn't increased as fast as people expected. Back in 2024, Geely, Chery, Leapmotor and all these other guys did not have full lineup of models or dealership set up and they are now.

It's unclear what BYD's actual registration was in January. We are going to have to wait for that. Remember, Sales = overseas sales + delivery to domestic stores. The second part happens before registration. BYD built up huge stockpiles in Q2 and Q3 that had to be de-stockpiled now that 2026 models are coming. So for November and December, BYD registration domestically was higher than its delivery to stores -> it was de-stockpiling. And that had to be done in January and February too, because 2026 models are coming out this year in January and right after CNY. The 2025 models actually started to roll out for BYD by Q4 of 2024, so the 2024Q4 figures were really good, but they were not that competitive by end of last year, hence the weak sales in 2025H2.

So, how well BYD does in 2026 is dependent on the 2026 models (first of which got announced in mid January) but most of them are coming in March and April.

Personally I don't think BYD will do as well this year. Neither do I wish them to.
Let's see how this unfolds.

Dante80 said:

Personally I don't think BYD will do as well this year. Neither do I wish them to.
Let's see how this unfolds.

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Well, BYD makes the best batteries for their cars, while the others are just pretenders slapping batteries onto their cars.

Comes into effect beginning of next year, probably will be seeing rapid adjustment from carmakers soon as hidden door handles will quickly become a negative factor for consumers when purchasing a new car.

It seems that Ford can't make it without help from Chinese automakers. Notice that Unlike Xiaomi, Geely has a long history of cooperating with foreign automakers. From Reuters:

Exclusive: Ford and Geely in talks for manufacturing, technology partnership, sources say​

• Ford and Geely discuss using Ford's European factory space
• Talks include shared vehicle technologies including for automated driving
• More automakers are seeking out partnerships to defray costs

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January NEV wholesales (subsidies for NEV have been reduced starting 2026):

Renault has decided to assemble its next engine in France with Chinese parts, deepening its existing relationship with Edrive.

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Renault

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will build in France a new small electric vehicle engine using parts supplied by China's Shanghai e-drive, a spokesperson for the carmaker said on Tuesday, as it looks to reduce costs and protect margins in a sluggish European market. Renault already imports from China small electric engines made by Shanghai e-drive for its new Twingo, a car it developed in less than two years thanks to input from the Chinese supplier and engineers.

Reuters reported in November that Renault had ended a project with France's Valeo to develop another more powerful EV motor

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, and was considering a

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instead. Confirmation of plans for the new small engine was first reported by French automotive media L'Argus. Renault will assemble the entry level engine at its factory in Cleon in Northern France, setting up a new production line from early 2027 to make up to 120,000 engines per year, the CGT union said in a statement published after a briefing by management of the Renault plant last week.

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sndef888 said:

January sales results are in

Geely overtook BYD to become first with 270,167 units

BYD fell massively mom and yoy to just 210,051 units, including 100k units overseas.

Chery fell a bit seasonally to 200,269 units


BYD is massively losing domestic market share.
Part of it is seasonal slowdown no doubt but I suspect a big reason is that they just can't shake off the "didi car" reputation in China.
Nobody wants to be seen driving a BYD even though the tech is great

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Well, I already predicted this last year, I just didn’t think Geely will overtake them this fast. BYD. Will have to focus more and more on overseas market(seems to make half their sales now according to this latest figures and is growing far faster than domestic sales and is far more profitable obviously), they have a better chance of competing and dominating there than in China , since they have a decent reputation overseas as a new modern EV player unlike in China. However, they have to improve their designs . Their designs can look boring sometimes to be honest despite the good tech . Xiaomi and even Xpeng have much better designs actually .
I still remain more bullish on Xiaomi in the long term , than any Chinese EV player to be honest. Despite being the youngest player in the industry they are doing really well. Their designs are fabulous, they don’t duplicate and cannabilize their models all over the place , they are good in marketing and making their models look valuable by creating a form of exclusivity , they have a strong brand name and loyalty from their customers, good inter connectivity between car and lifestyle products as a software/tech company which helps etc things others lack. So I think they will be dominant in China and even globally this coming decade if they keep up with what they are doing .

on another note, we have to be impressed with Geely. They have come out very fast to dominate the Chinese market from nowhere. Remains to be seen how long they will keep their crown . Getting to the top is much easier than remaining there . But so far they have all the momentum .

supercat said:

It seems that Ford can't make it without help from Chinese automakers. Notice that Unlike Xiaomi, Geely has a long history of cooperating with foreign automakers. From Reuters:

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January NEV wholesales (subsidies for NEV have been reduced starting 2026):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2018973894548570406

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Wow…I’m impressed how Tesla is still able to compete so well in China. Thought they will be struggling to even remain in the top 5. Especially with their models being more expensive than similar Chinese ones plus they have very few models which they don’t update as much as Chinese brands . So it’s a surprise they are still doing so well in China despite all this, but funny enough they have declined in sales more in other western countries .

In China, Tesla enjoys a strong “super foreign tech company” filter. Despite its vehicles being noticeably under-equipped, the brand's image, reliability, and smart driving capabilities receive favorable reviews in the Chinese market.

henrik said:

Well, BYD makes the best batteries for their cars, while the others are just pretenders slapping batteries onto their cars.

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People drive cars, not batteries.