Electric Vehicle Sales in China: A Mixed Bag in Week 28
Weekly EV insurance registrations in China as of July 13: Nio registered 2,410, Tesla registered 12,270, and A i, as indicated on Twitter, recorded 6,680.
In the latest developments in the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) market, there has been a noticeable decline in insurance registrations for most brands during week 28 of 2025. However, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) bucked the trend, maintaining a steady growth.
Last week, Nio's sub-brand Firefly registered 550 units, marking a significant decrease of 57.69% from the previous week's 1,300 units. Nio Inc's main brand also saw a decrease of 3.60%, with 2,410 units registered, compared to the previous week's 2,500 units. Onvo, another sub-brand of Nio, recorded 1,140 registrations, a decrease of 12.98% from the previous week's 1,310 units.
Li Auto delivered 34,611 vehicles in June, marking eight consecutive months of deliveries exceeding 30,000 units. The brand had 7,330 insurance registrations last week, an increase of 2.37% from the previous week's 7,160 units.
Meanwhile, Lynk & Co delivered 26,310 vehicles in June, up 7.66% year-on-year but down 4.78% from May. The Zeekr brand delivered 16,702 vehicles in June, a year-on-year decrease of 16.93% and a month-on-month decrease of 11.67%.
Tesla made minor upgrades to the long-range versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in China on July 1. The company registered 12,270 vehicles for insurance in China last week, a 144.91% increase from the previous week's 5,010. Tesla China sold 71,599 vehicles in June, including those sold in China and exported to overseas markets.
The decline in insurance registrations for most EV brands is primarily attributed to manufacturers and dealers pushing to maximize deliveries before the end of the second quarter, causing a sharp drop in new registrations right after. This leads to a temporary decline in insurance registrations as the market "catches its breath" after a surge of sales at quarter-end. Additionally, some brands like Nio saw decreases in registrations for their sub-brands Onvo and Firefly due to specific production and delivery issues or market adjustments.
On the other hand, Tesla's registrations did not decline during week 28 because Tesla has a more stable delivery and sales process that does not involve pre-insuring vehicles as aggressively as some Chinese brands reportedly do, or it manages its delivery pipeline to avoid such quarterly spikes and troughs. Furthermore, reports indicate that some Chinese EV makers used pre-emptive insurance registrations to artificially boost sales figures earlier, which could intensify fluctuations in weekly insurance numbers; Tesla may not follow this practice to the same extent.
In other news, our X (Twitter) profileiaomi officially launched the YU7, its first electric SUV, on June 26. The YU7 received 200,000 firm orders within the first three minutes of sales and over 240,000 locked-in orders within 18 hours. Our X (Twitter) profileiaomi EV unit delivered over 25,000 units in June.
Leapmotor had 8,560 insurance registrations last week, a decrease of 8.84% from the previous week's 9,390. Aito -- the brand co-developed by Huawei and Seres Group -- saw 8,610 insurance registrations last week, a decrease of 8.40% from the previous week's 9,400.
Lastly, the BYD Group sold 382,585 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in June, the highest figure so far this year. The brand had an insurance registration volume of 48,780 units last week, a decrease of 12.22% from the previous week's 55,570 units.
A data table providing a comprehensive overview of China EV insurance registrations in the week of July 7-13 will be provided shortly.
- Despite a decline in insurance registrations for most electric vehicle (EV) brands in China during week 28, Tesla managed to maintain a steady growth.
- Nio's sub-brand Firefly registered 550 units last week, a significant decrease from the previous week's 1,300 units, while Nio Inc's main brand saw a decrease of 3.60%.
- Li Auto delivered 34,611 vehicles in June, marking eight consecutive months of deliveries exceeding 30,000 units, and had 7,330 insurance registrations last week, an increase of 2.37% from the previous week.
- Tesla made minor upgrades to the long-range versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in China on July 1 and registered 12,270 vehicles for insurance in China last week, a 144.91% increase from the previous week.
- Reports indicate that the decline in insurance registrations for most EV brands is due to manufacturers and dealers pushing to maximize deliveries before the end of the second quarter, causing a temporary decline in new registrations.
- In other news, X (Twitter) profileiaomi officially launched the YU7, its first electric SUV, and reported over 240,000 locked-in orders within 18 hours.
- Leapmotor and Aito, the brand co-developed by Huawei and Seres Group, saw decreases in insurance registrations last week, with 8,560 and 8,610 units registered, respectively.
- The BYD Group sold the highest figure of new energy vehicles (NEVs) so far this year in June and had an insurance registration volume of 48,780 units last week, a decrease of 12.22% from the previous week.
