China's electric vehicle makers report strong July sales

NEW YORK: Electric vehicle sales at China's Li Auto and Xpeng more than tripled in July from a year ago, while they doubled at Nio, helped by robust demand for new energy automobiles in the world's biggest auto market.

The rise in July deliveries comes at a time when electric car makers have been expanding manufacturing capacity in China, encouraged by the country's policy of promoting greener vehicles.

Nio, Li and Xpeng compete with US electric car maker Tesla, which dominates the EV market in China.

Nio, the maker of the ES8 and ES6 electric sport-utility vehicles, said it delivered a total of 7,931 vehicles in July, up 124.5 per cent from a year earlier. Deliveries had more than quadrupled in July 2020.

Xpeng, which makes the P7 sedan and G3 sport-utility vehicles, said its July deliveries jumped 228 per cent to 8,040 vehicles.

Li, the producer of Li ONE SUVs, said it delivered 8,589 Li ONEs last month, an increase of about 251 per cent.

The strong sales numbers for the EV makers come as a global recovery in auto sales is being threatened by chip shortage that has forced automakers around the world to adjust assembly lines, cut productions and shutter factories.

US-listed shares of Li and Xpeng rose about 5 per cent in early trading on Monday, while Nio gained about 2 per cent.