NIO, Li Auto and Xpeng posted a mixed bag of deliveries in August as Covid-19 disrupted China’s electric car supply chains

China’s major assemblers of electric cars reported a mixed set of deliveries in August, as a resurgence of Covid-19 outbreak in the country disrupted the supply of components to their factories, slowing the roll-out of their vehicles.

Li Auto, the Beijing-based assembler that completed a US$1.5 billion dual listing in Hong Kong last month, reported that its August deliveries soared 248 per cent from a year earlier to 9,433 units, increasing 9.8 per cent from July.

Shanghai’s NIO handed 5,880 cars to customers, 48.3 per cent growth from last year but a 26 per cent drop from July due to supply chain constraints amid Covid-19. Guangzhou-based Xpeng sent out 7,214 units, advancing 172 per cent from last year but slowing 9 per cent from July’s 8,040 record, citing similar disruptions.

“The growth momentum for the companies remains buoyant,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “Last month, the lockdown and restrictive measures in part of China and Malaysia disrupted productions of carmakers, which also affected the start-ups’ monthly performance.”

A monthly delivery of 10,000 vehicles is the threshold that certifies automotive models as blockbuster marques in the world’s largest market for automobiles, both for petrol guzzlers and those that run entirely on electricity. NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto, all internet start-ups that have come to car assemblies in the last decade, are all nipping at the heels of the electric car market’s bellwether Tesla.