China EV insurance registrations for week ending Jun 23: Nio 4,700, Tesla 17,400, BYD 66,800, Xiaomi 3,300

Li Auto’s insurance registrations last week stood at 11,700 vehicles, Xpeng at 2,500 and Zeekr at 4,500.

Insurance registrations for major electric vehicle (EV) makers in China rose last week, as deliveries are usually higher towards the end of the month.

For the week of June 17-23, insurance registrations of Nio (NYSE: NIO) vehicles in China were 4,700, up 38.24 percent from 3,400 in the previous week, according to data shared today by Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI).

Li Auto stopped sharing weekly insurance registration numbers earlier this year, after doing so for about 1 year. In early May, it resumed sharing those numbers.

Nio delivered a record 20,544 vehicles in May, surpassing the 20,462 vehicles delivered in July 2023, according to data it announced on June 1.

Nio guided for second-quarter deliveries of between 54,000 and 56,000 vehicles when it reported first-quarter earnings on June 6, implying that June deliveries were expected to be between 17,836 and 19,836 vehicles.

Deutsche Bank analyst Wang Bin’s team said in a June 21 research note that they expect Nio to deliver 18,200 vehicles in June, up 68 percent year-on-year but down 12 percent from May.

Nio’s deliveries in the second quarter of 2024 would total 54,200 vehicles, in line with its guidance range, the team said.

Li Auto’s insurance registrations were 11,700 units last week, its third consecutive week above 10,000 vehicles and an 11.43 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,500 units.

The company delivered 35,020 vehicles in May, up 35.8 percent from April and up 23.85 percent year-on-year.

May’s deliveries were Li Auto’s highest for a single month so far in the year, though still well below last December’s record 50,353 vehicles.

Li Auto guided on May 20 that second-quarter deliveries would be in the range of 105,000 to 110,000 vehicles, implying year-on-year growth of 21.3 percent to 27.1 percent.

Wang’s team expected Li Auto to deliver 46,000 units in June, up 40 percent year-on-year and up 30 percent from May.

Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) had 2,500 insurance registrations last week, up 19.05 percent from 2,100 the week before.

The company delivered 10,146 vehicles in May, surpassing the 10,000 mark for the first time this year.

Xpeng on May 21 guided second-quarter vehicle deliveries to be in the range of 29,000 to 32,000 units, representing year-on-year growth of about 25.0 percent to 37.9 percent.

Deutsche Bank expected Xpeng to deliver around 10,000 units in June, up 16 percent year-on-year and essentially unchanged from May.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) had 17,400 insurance registrations in China last week, up 48.72 percent from 11,700 the previous week.

Tesla’s Shanghai factory, which produces the Model 3sedan and Model Y crossover, is its largest in the world, with an annual capacity of more than 950,000 vehicles.

Tesla’s pattern is to produce cars for export in the first half of the quarter and for the local market in the second half, it previously said.

Tesla sold 55,215 vehicles in China in May, up 29.89 percent from 42,508 a year earlier and up 75.73 percent from 31,421 in April, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Tesla’s Shanghai plant exported 17,358 vehicles in May, down 50.67 percent from 35,187 a year earlier and down 43.54 percent from 30,746 in April.

Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) retail sales in China are expected to come in at 55,000 units in June, down 27 percent from a year ago and essentially flat from May, Wang’s team said.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) vehicles saw 66,800 insurance registrations in China last week, up 16.78 percent from 57,200 vehicles the week before.

The company sold 331,817 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in May, further approaching its all-time high of 341,043 units in December last year. The figure measures wholesale sales, unlike deliveries or retail sales.

BYD sold 146,395 passenger battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and a record 184,093 passenger plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in May.

Wang’s team expects BYD to sell 260,000 retail units in June, up 11 percent year-on-year and flat from May.

Xiaomi EV had 3,300 insurance registrations last week, up 32.00 percent from 2,500 the week before, its highest single-week record.

Xiaomi EV delivered 8,646 vehicles in May, bringing cumulative 2024 deliveries to 15,764, according to Xiaomi’s June 2 Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcement.

Xiaomi launched the SU7 on March 28, offering three variants — standard, Pro, and Max — with starting prices of RMB 215,900 ($29,800), RMB 245,900, and RMB 299,900, respectively.

The Xiaomi EV factory would begin double-shift production in June and will deliver at least 10,000 units that month, Xiaomi management said in a May 23 earnings call.

Xiaomi EV will deliver at least 100,000 units for the full year of 2024 and will challenge the delivery target of 120,000 units, Xiaomi management said.

Zeekr (NYSE: ZK) had 4,500 insurance registrations last week, up 9.76 percent from 4,100 the week before.

The company delivered 18,616 vehicles in May, surpassing its previous record of 16,089 vehicles in April for its second consecutive record month.

Zeekr (NYSE: ZK) is expected to deliver 20,000 vehicles in June, up 88 percent year-on-year and 7 percent from May, Deutsche Bank said.

Leapmotor (HKG: 9863) had insurance registrations of 4,200 vehicles last week, up 23.53 percent from 3,400 the week before.

The company delivered 18,165 vehicles in May, a year-to-date high and close to its all-time high at the end of last year.

Deutsche Bank expected Leapmotor to deliver 21,000 units in June, up 59 percent year-on-year and up 16 percent from May.

Aito, a joint brand between Huawei and Seres Group, had 10,700 insurance registrations last week, a new single-week high and a 15.05 percent increase from 9,300 the week before.