Beijing (ZXZC)- Even though all of China’s top 5 new energy vehicle startups saw higher May deliveries than the same period of last year, the members of the top 3 have changed. Last month, Hozon Auto, the parent company of Nezha brand, outsold Li Auto and ranked third by monthly deliveries for the first time. But Li Auto was still the third best-selling automaker in terms of cumulative deliveries of the first five months of this year.

Not all top 5 startups delivered more vehicles than the previous month. Deliveries of NIO and Li Auto declined 5.5% and 22% respectively. Chip shortage is one of the reasons that caused the decrease. According to NIO’s statement, its vehicle delivery has been slightly impacted by the volatility of semiconductor supply and certain logistical adjustments. In order to make up for the delivery loss, NIO will speed the delivery in June to realize its quarterly target.

The shortage also brought certain impact on Li Auto. On an earnings call in mid-May, Shen Yanan, co-founder and president of Li Auto, the shortage slowed down its production pace and daily production of its Changzhou factory were less than 500 units. And customers may wait to buy its 2021 Li ONE, whose deliveries start from June 1 and boasts numerous upgrades. According to the executive, the new model has received very positive feedback and strong recognition from users and the company's total orders in May jumped to a record high.

Thanks to the sales increase of the P7, XPeng Motors had both year-on-year and month-on-month increase in May deliveries. For the Guangzhou-based automaker, there are also some supply challenges in several chips and the impact of the shortage may intensify in the second quarter and may be alleviated in the third quarter of this year.

Battery cell supply also posed difficulties for XPeng. He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng, revealed last month, his company was stepping up efforts to lift the production capacity of LFP-battery cell manufacturers to satisfy the version's demands, which were so strong to drive the total deliveries of the P7 to record high in May.

Hozon ranked third by May deliveries with 4,508 new vehicles sold. Currently, Hozon offers two models, the Nezha V and the Nezha U Pro. The cumulative sales of the Nezha V, since its deliveries started from last November, totaled 14,000 units and are expected to surpass 30,000 units by the end of this year.

In terms of Jan.- May deliveries, Li Auto was still the third, 6,475 units more than those of Hozon. But Hozon’s total deliveries of the first five months of this year have exceeded its annual deliveries of last year. XPeng’s year-to-date deliveries are expected to surpass its 2020 sales in June.

Both NIO and Li Auto have reiterated its delivery guidance for the second quarter in 2021. NIO wants to sell 21,000 vehicles at least while Li Auto said it’s confident that it will achieve the high range of its quarterly outlook, namely 15,500. XPeng expects its quarterly deliveries will be between 15,500 and 16,000 vehicles and by the end of May, it has completed nearly 70% of its target.

To support its delivery increase, NIO, XPeng and Li Auto are also busy with expanding their sales and service network. NIO will build 20 more new NIO Houses in 2021 to create more enjoyable life style for more users. And Li Auto has 83 retail stores covering 57 cities by the end of May and its annual target for direct-sale retail stores is to surpass 200. For XPeng, it expects to expand its stores to over 300 covering 110 cities.