The China EV market was mostly down last week due to the public holiday, with Li Auto being the exception. Nio was down 47%, Xpeng 23%, Tesla 29% and BYD 5% compared with the week before. Nio’s brand Onvo registered 1,280 vehicles and Firefly 350.

The weekly sales were published by Li Auto. However, Li Auto ceased publishing them in March after the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) “recommended” that Li Auto, the media and any third parties end it. CAAM says weekly data “undermines the industry order” and “fuels vicious competition.” Since then, Li Auto has published only its own EV registration.

The weekly data are used by consultants, analysts, or investors to see the sales trend and forecast monthly deliveries. They show how many cars were registered for road traffic, which can be later compared with automakers’ self-reported monthly sales, which, unlike registrations, include cars for showrooms, test cars, and other uses.

Most of China’s media have followed CAAM’s recommendation to stop publishing weekly figures. CarNewsChina continues to publish weekly insurance registrations, based on China EV DataTracker data.

The numbers are rounded and present new energy vehicle (NEV) sales, 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.

Week 18 of 2025 (W17) was between April 28 and May 4.

BYD registered 59,310 vehicles in China, down 4.6% from 62,200 units the week before.

BYD’s brand Denza registered 2,880 vehicles, down 26.2% from 3,900 units the week before.

Fang Cheng Bao registered 2,260 vehicles, down 31.5% from 3,300 units the week before. Yangwang registered only 20 vehicles.

BYD sold 372,615 passenger vehicles in April, nearly the same as in March and up 19.4% from April last year. It was a record-breaking month in 2025 for BYD.

BYD is expected to sell 5.5 million cars in 2025. The company sells only electric cars and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), as it stopped producing ICE-only vehicles in April 2022.

Li Auto registered 11,400 vehicles, up 32.6% from 8,600 units the week before. For Li Auto, this was a record-breaking week in 2025.

Li Auto sold 33,939 vehicles in April, down 7.5% from March and up 31.6% year-on-year.

Li Auto sells mainly EREV SUVs. Last year, it launched its first all-electric car, Li Mega. However, the sales were disastrous for the coffin-like vehicle. In response, Li Auto delayed the launch of another all-electric model to Q2 2025 – it will be an all-electric SUV, Li Auto i8.

Li Auto reportedly aims to sell 700,000 cars in 2025. In 2024, the company sold 500,508 vehicles.

Tesla registered 7,290 vehicles, down 29.2% from 10,300 units the week before.

Aito registered 6,700 vehicles, down 2.9% from 6,900 units the week before.

Stellantis-backed Leapmotor registered 6,200 vehicles, down 32.6% from 9,200 units the week before.

Xiaomi registered 5,700 vehicles, down 18.6% from 7,000 units the week before.

Beijing-based smartphone giant raised its 2025 delivery target by 50,000 units to 350,000 vehicles in March.

Volkswagen-backed Xpeng registered 5,550 vehicles, down 22.9% from 7,200 units the week before.

Xpeng sold 35,045 vehicles globally in April, up 5.5% from March and up 273% year-on-year.

Xpeng’s monthly delivery volume has exceeded 30,000 vehicles for the sixth consecutive month. The Mona M03 entry-level sedan has powered its deliveries. However, Xpeng surprisingly didn’t disclose Mona sales numbers for April.

Deepal registered 4,300 vehicles, down 15.7% from 5,100 units the week before.

Nio registered 3,470 vehicles, down 46.6% from 6,500 units the week before.

Onvo registered 1,280 vehicles, down 14.7% from 1,500 units the week before.

Firefly registered 350 vehicles in China.

In total, Nio Group registered 5,100 vehicles in China last week.

In April, Nio Group sold 23,900 vehicles globally, up 58.9% from March and 53% year-on-year. This included 4,400 cars sold by the Onvo brand and 231 by Frefly. Onvo was 9% down in April compared with March.

Nio Group’s sales target is about 440,000 vehicles in 2025 of which Onvo should contribute half. Last year, the company delivered 220,000 vehicles.

Nio’s third brand launched its first EV, Firefly, on April 19. Yes, the brand’s name is Firefly, and the name of the EV is also Firefly. The small electric hatchback starts at 125,800 yuan (16,770 USD) with a battery.

Firefly supports battery swap. However, it can’t swap batteries currently as there are no compatible swap stations. The container swap stations dedicated to Firefly were scrapped, and the fifth-generation swap station, which should support the Nio brand, Onvo, and Firefly, will launch next year with limited availability.

Firefly will launch between June and August in Europe.

Zeekr registered 3,100 vehicles, down 11.4% from 3,500 units the week before.

Avatr registered 2,100 vehicles, down 4.5% from 2,200 units the week before.

Arcfox registered 1,600 vehicles. No data was available for the previous week.

Luxeed registered 1,000 vehicles. No data was available for the previous week.