2025 Sales Express: A Major Shake-up in the First Echelon of New Energy Vehicle Makers

Two Brands See Growth Rates Surpass 300%

The pace of new car launches in the December auto market slowed down, with the overall market performance falling short of the same period in previous years, and terminal sales showing both year-on-year and month-on-month declines. Nevertheless, from a full-year perspective, the cumulative sales of the 2025 auto market still exceeded those of 2024, maintaining the development tone of steady progress.

In sharp contrast, the new energy vehicle market delivered an outstanding performance: not only did its sales in December outperform the same period in previous years, but its full-year growth also maintained an upward trend. Data shows that the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles in December exceeded 60%, setting a new industry record once again.

Major automotive brands have successively released their sales reports for December and the full year of 2025. Next, we will focus on the annual closing performance of major manufacturers.

Data indicates that a host of brands including Harmony Intelligent Mobility, Fangchengbao, Xiaomi, Li Auto, AION Hyper BU, XPeng, NIO, Zeekr, Denza, Ora, Firefly, M-Terrain and Polestones all achieved month-on-month sales growth in December. The vast majority of these brands hit new sales highs in December, with the new energy vehicle maker camp as a whole showing a positive upward momentum. Among them, Harmony Intelligent Mobility, Leapmotor and Fangchengbao have become part of the top echelon of new energy vehicle makers.

In terms of year-on-year growth rate, Fangchengbao took the lead with a staggering 345.5% year-on-year increase, followed by Polestones and Ora with respective year-on-year growth rates of 99.4% and 71.6%. Notably, Fangchengbao's monthly sales volume exceeded the 50,000-unit mark for the first time in December. Specifically, the sales volume of Titan 7 reached 34,088 units, the delivery volume of Leopard 5 stood at 8,777 units, and Titan 3 also achieved sales of 5,530 units. Endowed with core product strengths of "versatile spacious interior + God's Eye B advanced driver assistance system", coupled with its cost-effective pricing around 200,000 yuan, this mid-to-large plug-in hybrid SUV emerged as the annual blockbuster model.

Harmony Intelligent Mobility's December sales volume neared 90,000 units, a performance that stands out even when compared with traditional automakers. The revamped launches of new models such as the all-new AITO M7, AITO M8 and Shangjie H5 served as the core driving force behind Harmony Intelligent Mobility's sales growth. By virtue of continuously upgraded intelligent technologies, Harmony Intelligent Mobility delivers industry-leading intelligent driving experiences to consumers, complemented by a luxurious and comfortable cabin space, further consolidating its market competitiveness.

In terms of the full-year performance of new energy vehicle makers and emerging brands, Leapmotor, Harmony Intelligent Mobility and XPeng secured their positions in the industry's first echelon. Among them, Leapmotor and XPeng achieved a doubling of their full-year sales compared with the previous year, completing their transformation from "chasers" to "leaders" with their outstanding market performance.

In terms of year-on-year growth rate, M-Terrain, Fangchengbao and XPeng claimed the top three spots with respective growth rates of 387%, 316.1% and 126%. It is worth mentioning that as models equipped with Huawei's cutting-edge technologies, the M-Terrain M817, launched within the year, delivered an impressive performance and became the core driver of the brand's sales growth.

Leapmotor set a new sales record among new energy vehicle makers with full-year sales of 596,555 units. Multiple new models launched by the brand this year have become blockbusters. Its core competitiveness lies in equipping lower-priced vehicles with advanced intelligent configurations. Relying on its full-stack self-developed technological advantages, it enables more consumers to access cost-effective intelligent automotive products.

The full-year sales pattern of traditional brands remained stable. BYD, Geely Auto and Chery Automobile maintained their positions in the first echelon, with their cumulative sales far outpacing other brands, cementing their unshakable leading status. They also successfully overtook joint venture giants such as SAIC Volkswagen and FAW Toyota in sales volume.

Judging from the publicly available data of various brands, WEY Brand emerged as the growth pacesetter among traditional brands with an 86.29% year-on-year sales increase. The brand steadfastly advanced its new energy transition strategy, successfully unlocking a new growth curve for sales. Its two models, Lanshan and Gaoshan, delivered remarkable performances in 2025, accurately catering to the consumption demands of family car buyers and helping the brand scale new heights in sales.

BYD's full-year sales volume reached 4,105,203 units, once again establishing itself as the benchmark for Chinese automotive brands. Specifically, the Dynasty Series achieved sales of 1,885,203 units in 2025, with the Qin, Yuan and Song families remaining as the mainstay of sales. The Ocean Series exceeded 2.22 million units in full-year sales, with the Seagull, Seal and Sea Lion series serving as the key drivers.

In the overall automaker sales rankings, BYD, China FAW Group and Geely Auto maintained strong momentum. Among them, Geely Auto led the growth track with a 39% year-on-year increase, with its Galaxy brand serving as the core engine of sales growth. Multiple all-new models maintained their popularity in the market, making significant contributions to the brand's full-year performance.

BYD retained its top position with annual sales of 4,545,423 units, representing a net increase of 270,000 units compared with 2024 sales. This achievement not only led the domestic market by a wide margin, but also demonstrated strong competitiveness in the global auto market, bringing the brand one step closer to its goal of becoming the global sales champion. It is worth noting that BYD accelerated its global layout in 2025, emerging as a new benchmark in the global new energy vehicle market with its solid product strength, and its annual sales volume of pure electric vehicles successfully surpassed that of Tesla.