GAC Aion sales dropped to 10,206 units in January, and its local counterpart, Leapmotor, also saw sales plunge more than 80 percent to 1,139 units.

The company was founded in 2015 and currently sells the mini vehicle T03, the coupe S01, the flagship SUV C11 and the flagship sedan C01, all of which are purely electric vehicles.

As the cost of components, including batteries, has continued to rise over the past two years, Leapmotor is preparing to roll out extended-range versions of some of its models in an attempt to reduce costs.

Leapmotor announced yesterday that the C11 SUV with extended-range technology will be available for pre-order on February 9. The company said on December 20 that the delivery of the variant would begin in the first quarter.

The Leapmotor C11 went on sale September 29, 2021, and is currently available only in pure electric models, with three versions starting at RMB 179,800, 209,800 and 229,800 after subsidies, respectively.

On November 16, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the latest batch of models that will be allowed to be sold in China for public comment, and the Leapmotor C11 with extended-range technology was included.

In addition to the C11, Leapmotor will also launch a version of the C01 with extended-range technology in 2023, said Zhu Jiangming, Leapmotor's founder, chairman and CEO, after announcing the company's third-quarter results on November 14.

All models on Leapmotor's C platform and future new platforms will have both an all-electric version and a version with extended-range technology, the company previously said.

Leapmotor launched a purchase incentive program for the C01 sedan in January, offering consumers an RMB 30,000 discount on the purchase of the car with an RMB 5,000 deposit, including an RMB 10,000 cash discount, up to an RMB 10,000 loan subsidy, and an RMB 5,000 discount on options.

The offer is available to consumers who pay the deposit between January 17 and February 28 and complete delivery of the C01 by June 1.