BEIJING — One other budget-priced electric car brand is taking off in China, this time promoting compact SUVs.
Nezha, named after a feisty Chinese mythological character, claims its car deliveries more than doubled in 2022 to surpass 152,000 autos. Most deliveries had been of the Nezha V, a compact SUV whose post-subsidy value begins at 83,900 yuan ($12,000).
In distinction, Nio‘s bigger SUVs — with an extended driving vary and lots of different options — begin round 400,000 yuan.
Nevertheless, Nio delivered more than 122,000 electric cars in 2022, up by a modest 34% from the prior yr. That features the corporate’s premium-priced sedans.
Nio has emphasised its focus is on the more area of interest, higher-end phase, however has hinted at plans to launch a mass market brand.
In an earnings name in early November, CEO William Li stated the corporate had a gathering that day with its mass market group, which anticipated every mannequin in the phase may promote more than 50,000 items a month, in line with a FactSet transcript.
That is doubtlessly 600,000 cars per mannequin per yr.
Finances electric car Hongguang Mini has held the bestseller spot amongst new power passenger cars in China, a class which incorporates hybrids. As of November, year-to-date gross sales had exceeded 370,000 autos, in line with the China Passenger Car Affiliation.
Nevertheless, the Hongguang Mini is a tiny car in contrast with Nezha’s SUVs and sedans.
Nezha additionally stated it exported about 3,500 cars in 2022. Since late 2021, the corporate has pushed into Southeast Asia, beginning with a partnership in Thailand. Nezha, also called Neta, has an English-language web site that reveals it is searching for companions in the Philippines and Cambodia.
The corporate is a brand beneath startup Hozon Auto. As of July 2022, Nezha stated it had raised almost 10 billion yuan for its Collection D, or fourth stage of fundraising after preliminary funding.
China’s EV market shakes off financial slowdown
The Chinese authorities has supported the event of the home electric car business. Cities have preferential insurance policies that encourage individuals to change to electric-powered cars.
And regardless of the drag of Covid controls on China’s retail gross sales in 2022, electric car gross sales remained a pocket of development.
More than 1 / 4 of passenger cars offered in 2022 by the top of November had been new power autos, in line with the China Passenger Car Affiliation. Month-to-month figures from the affiliation sometimes come out in the center of the month.
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Nevertheless, competitors is fierce. Chinese battery and car producer BYD remained a giant with sales of more than 911,000 electric cars in 2022 — about 180% more than a year earlier.
The company has a wide range of models. BYD’s new luxury brand Yangwang is slated for a detailed launch on Thursday.
Electric car brand Aion, a spinoff of state-owned GAC Motor, announced sales more than doubled in 2022 to a record high of 271,000 vehicles.
Huawei’s co-developed new Aito brand said that since it began deliveries in March 2022, cumulative deliveries as of the end of the year exceeded 75,000 vehicles.
Li Auto delivers more than Nio
Nio’s growth in 2022 also fell behind that of Li Auto, another U.S.-listed Chinese electric car company whose SUVs are in a similar price range. However, the company’s cars come with a fuel tank to extend the battery’s driving range.
Li Auto said its deliveries for the year grew by 47% to more than 133,000 cars.
