BYD<\/a> remained China’s market leader by far, with 688,993 cars sold during the first quarter. But that marked a 30% drop from the year-ago period. <\/p>\n Amid fierce competition in China’s slowing economy<\/a>, BYD has not disclosed a domestic sales target, but has said it aims to sell well over 1 million cars overseas this year. The automaker’s exports rose by more than 55% to 321,165 cars in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Leapmotor does not break out monthly overseas sales. The company said last month it plans to sell 1 million cars in China this year and has a far smaller export goal of 100,000 to 150,000 cars. <\/p>\n But at 50,029 deliveries<\/a> last month, Leapmotor outranked most of its domestic rivals. <\/p>\n Chinese startup Li Auto reported 41,053 deliveries<\/a> in March, and a total of 95,142 for the quarter \u2014 a 2.5% year-on-year rise, surpassing the company’s target of 85,000 to 90,000<\/a> deliveries for the quarter.<\/p>\n Automaker Nio<\/a>, which turned its first quarterly profit at the end of 2025, similarly met its quarterly target of 80,000 to 83,000<\/a> units, notching 35,486 deliveries<\/a> in March and 83,465 for the quarter \u2014 nearly doubling from the year before. The total figures include cars from Nio’s lower-priced brands Onvo and Firefly.<\/p>\n After unveiling an upgrade to its widely-popular SU7 electric sedan<\/a> in the middle of the month, Xiaomi<\/a> announced more than 20,000 EV deliveries<\/a> in March, bringing its quarterly total to more than 79,000 deliveries, a 14.5% rise from the same period a year ago.<\/p>\n Geely’s EV marque Zeekr reported 29,318 EV sales<\/a> in March, amounting to 77,037 for the quarter \u2014 an 86% year-on-year increase.<\/p>\n Apart from BYD, Xpeng<\/a> was the only other major EV automaker to see sales declines at the start of 2026. The Guangzhou-headquartered automaker logged 27,415 deliveries in March and 62,682 for the quarter<\/a> \u2014 a 33.3% drawdown compared to the first quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n Leapmotor’s competitive advantage Leapmotor has also partnered with European automotive conglomerate Stellantis for the global market<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Chinese company said it had more than 800 sales and service outlets in Europe as of the end of 2025, in addition to at least 30 in South America. Leapmotor has pressed further abroad, launching its first overseas innovation center<\/a> in Munich, Germany on March 20. <\/p>\n Together with Stellantis, Leapmotor is also in talks to produce EVs in Canada<\/a>, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. CNBC has reached out to Stellantis for comment.<\/p>\n Chinese EVs have made rapid inroads to Europe despite EU tariffs. In December, 9.3% of all new cars sold in the EU were made in China, while China-made automobiles accounted for 20.6% of all new car sales<\/a> in the U.K., consulting firm Rhodium Group said in a report Wednesday.<\/p>\n![\"Leapmotor:](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/108197283-17575619181757561915-41589996452-1080pnbcnews.jpg\")
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