China’s Emerging EV Automakers: Leapmotor, XPeng, Xiaomi, Li Auto, NIO

Growth analysis and outlook for 2026

2026/04/20

Summary
Overview of the five companies: From Li Auto's dominance to fierce competition
Leapmotor: Promoting a diverse product lineup to reach its sales target of 1 million units
XPeng: Strengthening "Physical AI" and local production
Xiaomi: Increasing investment in AI and autonomous driving
Li Auto: Accelerating AI upgrades and expanding globally amidst pressure of declining sales
NIO: Accelerating semiconductors for intelligent driving and establishment of overseas sales network

Summary

According to the new car sales data (factory shipments) of MarkLines, the sales volume of five emerging Chinese manufacturers (Leapmotor, XPeng, Xiaomi, NIO, and Li Auto) in 2025 was approximately 2.172 million units. Their share in China's new car sales among passenger cars in the New Energy Vehicle category reached 13.0%, a 2.9 percentage point increase from the previous year, indicating an overall upward trend.

Leapmotor’s (Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., Ltd.) new car sales in China doubled from the year before to 597,000 units in 2025, surpassing Li Auto (Beijing CHJ Information Technology Co., Ltd.) to become the top-selling emerging manufacturer. XPeng (Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co., Ltd.) and Xiaomi (Xiaomi EV Technology Co., Ltd.) followed suit, both surpassing 400,000 units sold. Li Auto's sales fell to 406,000 units, while NIO's (Shanghai NIO Automobile Co., Ltd.) sales steadily increased to 326,000 units. The difference in sales volume is narrowing as competition intensifies.

Regarding markets outside China, while established Chinese OEMs continue to strengthen their overseas expansion, emerging Chinese EV manufacturers are also accelerating their pace of growth, but there are differences in their progress. While Leapmotor and XPeng made significant strides in sales outside China in 2025, Xiaomi, Li Auto, and NIO are still in the stage of building their sales networks and developing new markets.

This report analyzes the trends and competitive landscape of five emerging Chinese EV OEMs. In particular, this report will summarize each company's differentiation strategies in product lineup, management, and approach to intelligent systems, and will also briefly explain their status in overseas markets.

Note: Overseas sales statistics are compiled based only on data from countries where available.

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