XPeng, NIO EV Shipments Climb In December As China Makers Cap Year Of Big Gains

China electric vehicle maker XPeng delivered 16,000 cars in December, an increase of 181% from a year earlier, as the country’s biggest EV suppliers capped a year of big gains in the world’s largest automobile market.

XPeng’s fourth-quarter deliveries reached 41,751 units, a 222% increase year-over-year, the company said in a statement today. For all of 2021, Guangzhou-headquartered XPeng shipped 98,155 EVs, a 263% year-over-year rise.

The company boasts two billionaires – CEO He Xiaopeng is worth $8.8 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List; co-founder Xia Heng is worth $1.5 billion. XPeng’s investors include Alibaba, which holds an 11% stake, along with funds association with IDG and 5Y Capital.

Also announcing gains for December and the fourth-quarter today was Shanghai-based EV maker NIO. The company shipped 10,489 units last month, an increase of 49.7% from a year earlier; it delivered 25,034 vehicles in the fourth quarter, a quarterly record representing an increase of 44.3% year-over-year.   

NIO Chairman William Li is worth $4.8 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List today. The company is 10% owned by China Internet heavyweight Tencent.

China has emerged as a EV world leader in the past decade. Deliveries of electric vehicles in China more than doubled by 141% in October to 320,000 units, state-run China Daily said reported in November, citing China Passenger Car Association figures. Nearly 19 of every 100 passenger cars sold in the country that month were EVs, including plug-in hybrids. The EV share in October compares with only 5.8% in 2020, according to the newspaper. For the first 10 months of the year, new energy vehicle deliveries gained 191.9% year-on-year to 2.14 million units, with a 13% share of the market. Growth in 2022 may be crimped, however, by chip shortages and reduced government subsidies, some analysts believe.

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@rflannerychina