China EV registrations in W18: Xiaomi 1,300, Nio 3,600, Tesla 11,000, BYD 52,300

The whole market was down in week 18 (April 29 – May 5) of the year due to the Labor Day holiday. Xiaomi registered 1,300 units of SU7, down 24%, Nio was down 28%, Tesla was 26% down, and BYD nearly 18% down from the week before.

The weekly sales data were published by Li Auto, which resumed publishing registration data after a few weeks break without any official explanation. The numbers are rounded and present new energy vehicles (NEV), the Chinese term for BEVs, PHEVs, and EREVs (range extenders). To be completely precise, it also includes hydrogen vehicles (FCEVs), but their sales are almost non-existent in China.

As usual, BYD took the first spot, registering 52,600 vehicles, down 17.81% from 64,000 units the week before. BYD vehicles cost 69,800 – 269,800 yuan (9,600 – 37,400 USD) in China.

Following BYD, Tesla secured the second position with 11,000 vehicles sold, marking a decrease of 25.68% from the previous week’s 14,800 units. Tesla vehicles cost 231,900 – 824,900 yuan (32,000 – 114,400 USD) in China.

Last week, Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, visited Beijing to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, whom he has known well since the early days of the Giga Shanghai factory. The discussed topic is unknown, but Bloomberg reported at the time that the main regulatory obstacle to launching Full Self-Driving (FSD) assisted driving features in China has been removed as Tesla partnered with Baidu for their mapping software and data storage.

Tesla model sales breakdown:

GM’s Chinese joint venture with state-owned SAIC, Wuling, ranked third, with 9,200 registered vehicles. Its best-seller is the small hatchback Wuling Bing, a BYD Seagull competitor. Wuling vehicles cost 32,800 – 169,800 yuan (4,500 – 23,500 USD) in China.

Li Auto captured the fourth position with 5,300 vehicles sold, experiencing a decline of 25.35% from the prior week’s 7,100 units. In China, Li Auto vehicles cost 231,900 – 824,900 yuan (32,000 – 114,400 USD). Li Auto historically sold only SUVs, which are not all-electric but EREV (extended range electric vehicle), meaning there is a small ICE engine that is not connected to the wheels and powers the battery or the e-motor.

On March 1, the