XPeng tops 50,000 deliveries for the first time as Li Auto slips to 29,025

XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) delivered 50,237 vehicles in October 2026, its first month above 50,000 and up 22% from 41,256 in September. The record landed on a split day for China's EV startups. Leapmotor held above 100,000 and Xiaomi passed 50,000, while Li Auto, NIO, Zeekr and Huawei's HIMA alliance all delivered fewer cars than a month earlier.

XPeng's previous monthly high was 42,013 in October 2025, so the new figure is also up 20% year on year. Overseas markets supplied 13,326 deliveries, another monthly record and 166% more than a year earlier. That leaves 36,911 cars delivered in mainland China, still almost three-quarters of the total. By a tally of XPeng's monthly releases, deliveries for the first ten months came to 334,604, 5.8% below the same period of 2025.

XPeng's newest model is only now reaching customers. The company launched the Mona L05 five-seat SUV in October at a limited-time price from 139,800 CNY (c. $20,823), said 5,000 ready-to-deliver units sold out within three minutes, and scheduled nationwide deliveries from November 1, 2026. XPeng said the Mona series has passed 360,000 cumulative deliveries in the two years since its launch. It also said the GX flagship SUV still ranks near the top of China's large SUV segment above 300,000 CNY (c. $44,684), and that the GX has collected nearly 4,000 overseas orders before its Middle East pricing has been announced.

The bigger test is the target XPeng set for itself. In August, chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said the company would challenge monthly sales of more than 60,000 in the fourth quarter as four new SUVs reached the market. October's record still leaves XPeng 9,763 cars short of that mark, with November and December left to close the gap.

Leapmotor (HKEX: 9863) stayed far ahead in volume with 106,127 global deliveries, up 51% year on year and its fourth straight month above 100,000. Growth from September's 105,656 was just 471 cars, or 0.4%. The company said cumulative deliveries passed 1.9 million at the end of October and that its 2 millionth car is due off the line in November.

Exports are carrying a growing share of that volume. Leapmotor shipped more than 27,000 cars overseas in September, and chief financial officer Li Tengfei said on the half-year results call that overseas sales could reach 200,000 this year and 350,000 to 400,000 in 2027. The company did not break out October exports in its delivery announcement.

Only Leapmotor, XPeng and Xiaomi grew from September; Xiaomi's bars are the floors it disclosed, not exact counts (chart based on company announcements and HKEX filings)

Xiaomi (HKEX: 1810) said it delivered more than 50,000 vehicles in October, without giving an exact number or a model split. A month earlier it reported more than 40,000, with its new series delivering more than 10,000 in its first month on sale. Founder, chairman and CEO Lei Jun set a 2026 delivery target of 550,000 in January, and Xiaomi did not update its year-to-date total on Sunday.

NIO (NYSE: NIO) delivered 34,246 vehicles, down 8.5% from 37,408 in September. The main NIO brand fell to 18,125 from 21,318 and ONVO slipped to 8,383 from 8,763, while the Firefly small-car brand rose to 7,738 from 7,327. Year-to-date deliveries reached 334,547, up 38.5%, and NIO said its all-new ES8 passed 160,000 deliveries on October 23, 2026.

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) delivered 29,025 vehicles, down 8.8% from 31,817 in September and the smallest total among the seven brands compared here. The company said it delivered more than 3,000 units of the new Li MEGA. It launched the 2026 Li i6, now fitted with its in-house Lianshan battery, on October 28, 2026, leaving the refreshed model only days to add to the month. Its retail network also shrank, to 481 stores at the end of October from 485 a month earlier.

The 2026 Li i6, Li Auto's battery-electric SUV, was launched on October 28 with the Lianshan battery (Li Auto)

Huawei's HIMA alliance delivered 33,537 vehicles, down 10.5% from 37,490 in September, and said its average transaction price across the lineup topped 400,000 CNY (c. $59,579). Seres (HKEX: 9927), whose Aito models are sold through HIMA, reported October new energy vehicle sales of 24,921, down 51.57% from a year earlier. Sales of Seres-branded models fell 54.69% to 22,105, and its year-to-date new energy vehicle sales of 281,442 are down 20.96%.

Zeekr delivered 32,483 vehicles, up 52% from a year earlier but down 12.7% from 37,216 in September, which one tally counted as the brand's sixth consecutive monthly record. The Geely-owned premium brand has delivered 320,887 cars so far this year, up 94%.

Taken together, the six brands that disclosed exact counts delivered 285,655 cars in October, 1.8% fewer than the 290,843 they delivered in September. XPeng's gain of 8,981 cars and Leapmotor's 471 were outweighed by a combined drop of 14,640 at NIO, HIMA, Zeekr and Li Auto. September figures for NIO, Leapmotor and HIMA are from one tally of company announcements.

XPeng finished October 21,212 deliveries ahead of Li Auto. November will show whether the Mona L05 widens that gap or the refreshed i6 starts to close it.

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.7138 CNY as of October 30, 2026.