3 of China’s Tesla rivals had a record month, putting pressure on Elon Musk

• Chinese Tesla rivals Zeekr, Xpeng, and Li Auto announced record monthly deliveries this week.
• That puts pressure on Tesla, which is also expected to announce strong numbers on Wednesday.
• Elon Musk’s automaker is facing fierce competition in China, with rivals rolling out their own cheap EVs.

3 of Tesla’s Chinese EV rivals have had a very good month — and they’ve thrown down a gauntlet for Elon Musk.

Chinese EV makers Li Auto, Zeekr, and Xpeng all announced record September deliveries this week, putting pressure on Tesla as it prepares to release its own numbers on Wednesday.

Zeekr reported sales of 21,333 electric vehicles in September, up 77% from the previous year, while Xpeng’s sales rose 39% to hit 21,352.

Li Auto, which sells electric cars that can include a range-extending fuel tank, announced it had delivered 53,709 vehicles in September.

Meanwhile, another key rival, Nio, reported a new quarterly record for its deliveries with an 11.6% year-over-year leap.

Zeekr and Xpeng’s numbers remain below Tesla’s most recent figures, with Musk’s company selling 63,000 cars in August 2024, per Reuters.

But both companies have unveiled EVs that compete directly with Tesla’s vehicles at a lower price point in recent months.

Xpeng announced the Mona M03 in August, the cheapest version of which is nearly half the price of Tesla’s Model 3, while Zeekr’s new 7X SUV is priced lower than the best-selling Model Y.

The red-hot results from local rivals come as Tesla prepares to report what are expected to be strong delivery numbers on Wednesday.

Wall Street analysts polled by the London Stock Exchange Group expect Tesla to announce an 8% boost in global EV deliveries from the previous year in September, according to Reuters, on the back of strong performance in China.

Tesla has wooed Chinese customers with various incentives and favorable financing plans recently and cut prices aggressively at the start of the year.

While the US automaker will be watching Zeekr, Xpeng, and Li Auto closely, it is also playing catchup to global rival BYD, which dominates EV sales in China.

It also temporarily overtook Tesla as the world’s largest EV producer in the last quarter of 2023, with Counterpoint research analysts suggesting BYD could do so again this year.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.