As of July 2021, Nio App has 367,000 monthly active users, Xpeng has 236,000, and Li Auto has 132,000.

China's smart car user base has grown several times over the past three years, and Nio is in a clear lead among the new car makers, according to a new report.

The Nio App had 367,000 monthly active users as of July 2021, up 54.2 percent from the same period last year, the highest among the new car makers in China, according to a report released Wednesday by market research firm QuestMobile.

Tesla's app in China had 304,000 monthly active users, second only to Nio, up 202 percent year-on-year, the report showed.

Xpeng Motors came in third at 236,000, up 234.2 percent year-on-year. Li Auto was 132,000, up 89.5 percent year-on-year. Together, they were at 368,000, almost equal to Nio.

Notably, the users of these apps include both car owners and non-car owners who are interested in the brand.

The QuestMobile report showed that the monthly active user base of smart car apps in China reached 16.25 million in July 2021, up 110 percent from the same period last year and up 520 percent from the same period in 2018.

Traditional car companies have seen significant growth in the number of monthly active users using their connected car services due to their large existing user base, the report noted.

In July 2021, SAIC Volkswagen's monthly active users reached 2.141 million, up 2,481.1 percent year-on-year, and Nissan was 1.843 million, up 94.8 percent year-on-year, according to the report.