Chinese top 6 NEV startups achieve best-ever monthly insurance registrations in June

In June 2021, China's insurance registrations of locally-produced new energy passenger vehicles (NEPVs) amount to 218,949 units, zooming up 172% year on year, while also rising 23% month on month, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).

The cumulative registrations reached 988,442 units for the first half of the year, rocketing 222% compared to the year-ago period.

According to Chinese policy, NEPVs hereby only include all-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, range-extended electric and fuel cell-powered cars, SUVs, MPVs, and minibuses.

Tesla saw its June registrations of China-made vehicles jump 29% over the previous month to 28,508 units. Notably, the U.S. manufacturer also outstripped the joint efforts of NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng, which are regarded as its top 3 rivals in Chinese market.

To be specific, there were 16,995 Model 3s (+82.3% MoM) and 11,513 Model Ys (-10% MoM) registered last month. Among all locally-made NEV models sold in China, the Model 3 and the Model Y ranked second and third respectively by June insurance volume, following the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV (28,608 units).

The registrations of the top 6 Chinese NEV startups totaled 34,460 units in June, leaping 30.3% over a month ago. Li Auto and NIO were the only two with an insurance volume exceeding 7,000 units. All of the 6 companies closed the month of June with a record-breaking monthly figure.

With only one production model (Li ONE) for sale, Li Auto for the first time topped Chinese startups by monthly insurance registrations.

It is noteworthy that the Li ONE was the highest-ranked full-sized SUV model, and also the runner-up on the list of new energy SUV models in terms of June registrations.

In May 2021, Li Auto launched the 2021 Li ONE, which features many upgrades in range-extended electric system, ADAS, smart cockpit, and seating comfortability, while is only 10,000 yuan ($1,540) dearer than the old model. The company said as the 2021 Li ONE continues to gain traction rapidly and drive a surge in orders, Li Auto's new order volume in June surpassed 10,000 units and hit a record high.

Despite being outsold by Li Auto, NIO scored a 28% growth compared to the previous month thanks to the rise achieved by all of its three models. As the biggest sales contributor, the ES6 accounted for 47% of the company's June registrations.

NIO is getting its business back on track after gaining capital support from Hefei municipal government. According to William Bin Li, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO, the startup has already started the construction of its second plant, located in the Hefei-based NeoPark. The factory is scheduled to begin vehicle production in the third quarter of 2022.

NIO is vigorously developing the battery swapping model as part of its core competitiveness. As of June 2021, the startup already had over 300 battery swapping stations across China and aims to make the number exceed 700 by the end of this year.

XPeng's registrations in June jump 15.8% from a month earlier to 6,627 units. The cumulative registrations for the first half of this year amounted to 29,898 units, already topping the full-year volume of last year.

With 4,846 vehicles registered, the P7 sedan recorded its highest-ever monthly registrations in June. The company said the P7’s Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP) highway solutions are attracting wide customer appeal, reinforcing its commitment to technology innovation.

The G3 had an insurance volume of 1,776 units last month. The compact SUV is expected to see sales growth in the near future after its mid-cycle facelift, the G3i, hit the market.

HOZON Auto, the owner of Nezha brand, recorded 4,593 units in June registrations. As for the semi-annual volume, there were 17,041 Nezha-branded vehicles registered, representing a 253% hike year over year.

However, 86.7% of the year-to-date registrations were contributed by the Nezha V, signifying the marginal presence of the other two models, the Nezha N01 and the Nezha U.

In June, Leapmotor saw its monthly registrations surpass 3,000 units for the first time. With 3,782 units registered, the T03 ranked 15th among locally-made NEV models by June registrations, immediately followed by the ES8 and the Nezha V.

WM Motor saw its registrations in June shoot up 46% month over month to 3,715 units, 87.2% of which were the EX5 SUVs. Among the 3,239 EX5s registered, 1,953 units were recorded for car rental business, versus 1,086 units for private users.