The start of October saw multiple new energy vehicle companies release their "Golden September" sales or delivery figures.

In the new force camp, Leapmotor remained in the lead. Data showed that in September, Leapmotor's global deliveries reached about 105,700 units, up 59% year on year, marking the third consecutive month of monthly sales above 100,000 units. In the first nine months of this year, Leapmotor's cumulative overseas exports exceeded 150,000 units, and its sales and service outlets in Europe surpassed 1,000. To support future growth, Leapmotor plans to launch a second brand in the fourth quarter of next year. According to Zhu Jiangming, founder, chairman and CEO of Leapmotor Technology, new products launched this year filled price bands that had not been covered before, with the A series and D series contributing important incremental volume. As the sales base expands, Leapmotor is planning ahead for products for next year and the year after, hoping to find new growth space through the second brand and the launch of new overseas products.

XPeng Group followed closely behind Leapmotor, delivering about 41,300 new vehicles in September. Beyond growth in sales, XPeng is seeking to expand new boundaries. In mid-September, reports said XPeng planned to expand the scope of its technology output from partner Volkswagen to other overseas automakers to open up new sources of revenue. XPeng Chairman He Xiaopeng said: "Now, in addition to Volkswagen, we are also in talks with more automakers and non-automakers about cooperation in technology, chips and other areas. At the 2026 Paris Motor Show opening on October 12, we may announce several new cooperation cases."

In September, Nio ranked third in sales among the new force camp, delivering 37,400 new vehicles that month, up 7.7% year on year. In the first three quarters of this year, Nio delivered about 300,300 new vehicles, up 49.2% year on year. It is understood that Nio's sales target range for this year is 456,400 to 489,000 vehicles. As of the third quarter, its annual sales target achievement rate was about 61.41% to 65.8%.

On October 1, data disclosed by Li Auto showed that in September the company delivered 31,800 new vehicles. As of September 30, 2026, Li Auto's cumulative historical deliveries stood at 1,833,651 vehicles. On the same day, data released by Xiaomi Auto showed that in September, Xiaomi Auto's deliveries exceeded 40,000 vehicles, among which the Xiaomi Pengcheng delivered more than 10,000 in its first month. This was also the first time this year that Xiaomi Auto's monthly sales exceeded 40,000.

Among new brands created by traditional automakers, Dongfeng Yipai Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. (Yipai Technology) delivered about 16,000 complete vehicles in September, up 46% month on month. In the first three quarters of this year, Yipai Technology delivered a cumulative total of about 166,800 complete vehicles. Its overseas market continued to make breakthroughs, with cumulative exports up 58% year on year. Deepal Automobile recorded global sales of about 30,200 vehicles in September. In the first three quarters of this year, its cumulative global sales were about 252,200 vehicles, up 8.59% year on year. Hyptec Aion reported terminal sales of about 35,500 vehicles in September, up 21.91% year on year, achieving positive growth for seven consecutive months. Hyptec Aion believes this result confirms the system momentum released by the BU system reform.

Overall, these results confirm the存量 game underlying this year's auto market. The China Passenger Car Association branch predicted that China's narrow passenger vehicle retail market in September would be about 1.69 million units, up 9.7% month on month, but due to the high base of 2.241 million units last year, it would fall 24.6% year on year. Even in the peak season, the explosive market conditions of previous years are unlikely to appear, and the auto market shows a special pattern of "slight month-on-month recovery, continued year-on-year pressure."

"In September, the passenger vehicle market entered the traditional peak sales season. Local policies to boost consumption and automaker promotions continued, helping release consumer demand. New products launched earlier continued to ramp up, and new cars brought increased foot traffic to support market performance. In previous years, Golden September meant broad gains across the board, with first-time purchases and replacement purchases both released, and both fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles able to share in the增量; this year is a存量 game, with one rising as another falls, and incremental volume is basically concentrated in new energy, while fuel vehicles seem to have no new demand," said Cui Dongshu, head of the China Passenger Car Association branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association.

The China Passenger Car Association branch believes that as the auto market enters the traditional "Golden September and Silver October" consumption peak season, terminal foot traffic is expected to continue recovering, but consumption expectations and fundamentals still show no fundamental improvement. Combined with long-term volatile increases in oil prices, the market's actual performance will find it hard to replicate the quality of previous "Golden September" periods.

However, compared with competitive pressure in the domestic market, independent brands are still actively exploring outward. The 2026 Paris Motor Show will open on October 12. As one of the world's five major international auto shows, more and more independent brands are heading to this exhibition. For example, Leapmotor will present new products including the D19 and A05 at the 2026 Paris Motor Show; the XPeng G9L will make its overseas launch in Paris, France; the 2026 Li i6 will be officially launched, and Li Auto will complete its European debut at this Paris Motor Show, with the Li i6 also officially entering the European market; and the Avatr 9 series will make its global debut at this Paris Motor Show.

For a group of Chinese new energy vehicle companies, the domestic "Golden September" delivery report is only one point in the full-year sprint. In the coming "Silver October," domestic automakers will continue to push toward annual sales targets, while new products and cooperation landing at this Paris Motor Show may set the stage for the next round of growth for independent brands.