Leapmotor 106,127, Xpeng 50,237, Nio 34,246: the October 2026 China EV delivery scorecard

On the first Sunday of November, five of China's major new energy vehicle (NEV) brands published October delivery figures over one morning, and the topic trended on Weibo's hot search. The morning produced records and declines together, and both readings are accurate on their own terms.

Leapmotor and Xpeng each posted a monthly record and Xiaomi a 2026 high, on their own reported bases, while Nio and Li Auto delivered fewer vehicles than in October 2025. The two kinds of headline sit on different measures.

Company figures count deliveries, mostly on a global basis that includes exports, while the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) counts domestic retail, which its October forecast put down 16.5% year-on-year. Without that label, a record month and a shrinking market look contradictory.

The October scorecard splits three ways

Five companies published October figures on November 1, and they fall into three groups on growth.

Totals for Nio and Li Auto come from their own releases ^[1][7], and CnEVPost reported the other three companies' announcements ^[2][3][4]. Monthly growth rates are CnEVPost's compiled data ^{[2][3][4][5][8]}, while Nio's year-to-date figure is the company's own ^[1].

Xiaomi's exact October total, and therefore the brand's order against Xpeng's 50,237, is pending CPCA data, so the row order above is not an established ranking. BYD's overall October total and Tesla China's figure were not in company disclosures as of midday November 1, so this scorecard covers the five brands that published October totals.

Leapmotor is the durable-growth case. The company delivered a record 106,127 vehicles globally in October, exceeding 100,000 for the fourth consecutive month ^[2]. The year-on-year rate of 50.99% and the month-on-month gain of 0.45% both slowed from September's 58.51% and 2.45% ^[2]. The first ten months brought 772,666 deliveries, 77.27% of the company's one-million target for 2026 ^[2].

Xiaomi and Xpeng each crossed a monthly threshold in October, and each headline needs its qualifier. Xiaomi announced more than 50,000 October deliveries, its highest monthly total of 2026, ending two consecutive months of year-on-year declines, and published no exact total or model breakdown ^[3].

On CnEVPost's lower-bound math, the figure is at least 24.95% above September's 40,015 and at least 2.77% above the 48,654 of October 2025 ^[3]. CnEVPost attributes the return to growth to the Sky Nomad ^[3].

Xpeng's 50,237 was its first month above 50,000, ahead of the previous record of 42,013 from October 2025 ^[4]. Overseas deliveries reached a monthly record of 13,326, up 166% year-on-year and 26.53% of the total, while domestic deliveries of 36,911 were the highest in a year ^[4].

Xpeng's year-to-date total is still down 5.80% ^[4].

Nio and Li Auto make up the retreat group. Nio delivered 34,246 vehicles, 18,125 from the NIO brand, 8,383 from ONVO and 7,738 from FIREFLY ^[1].

The total was down 15.23% year-on-year, ending a 31-month growth streak on CnEVPost's compiled data, and was the lowest since April ^[8]. The year-to-date figure of 334,547 remains up 38.5% ^[1].

FIREFLY set a monthly record for the second consecutive month at 7,738 units, a 22.60% share of the total, while ONVO posted a third consecutive year-on-year decline, falling 51.66% ^[8]. Li Auto's 29,025 was down 8.63% from October 2025, a second consecutive year-on-year decline and the lowest monthly total since February, with cumulative deliveries at 1,862,676 ^[5][7].

The company delivered over 3,000 units of the new Li MEGA in October ^[7].

Deliveries and CPCA retail measure different things

The two series differ first in where each brand's October volume came from. Leapmotor's release covers deliveries globally ^[2]. Xpeng drew 26.53% of its total from overseas, up from 24.37% in September ^[4]. All of Xiaomi's vehicle sales currently come from China's domestic market ^[3].

CPCA retail counts domestic terminal sales. September NEV retail fell 16.7% year-on-year, the ninth consecutive monthly decline on CPCA data ^[3].

For October, CPCA forecast on October 23 that NEV retail would reach 1.07 million units, down 16.5% year-on-year ^[6][9]. That figure is a forecast.

The nearest published actual covers October 1 to 25, when NEV retail totaled 753,000 units, down 13% year-on-year and 1% from the same period in September ^[9].

A reader weighing October headlines against market strength needs the label first.

Xiaomi's 50,000 floor and ES8's missing month

Two October numbers need extra caution. Xiaomi's "more than 50,000" is a company-stated floor. Whether it sets an all-time monthly record stays open until CPCA publishes the exact figure, because December 2025 is the only earlier month above 50,000, at 50,212 ^[3].

Nio's All-New ES8 crossed 160,000 cumulative deliveries on October 23 ^[1]. The release states that from January to October 2026 the model ranked first in cumulative retail sales volume in both the large SUV segment and the RMB400,000-level vehicle segment in China ^[1].

Those claims are cumulative and come from the company itself. The model's October volume went undisclosed, which on CnEVPost's reading may mean it was below 10,000 units ^[8].

A cumulative milestone and a soft current month can be true at the same time.

Milestones need the same label check elsewhere. BYD's Fang Cheng Bao line reached 600,000 cumulative sales, with the Tai 7 passing 300,000 units in October ^[9]. That count is cumulative, a different measure from a monthly score.

Three Q4 targets October made checkable

October's scores turn fourth-quarter goals into arithmetic a reader can check against November and December results.

• Leapmotor needs 227,334 more deliveries in the final two months, an average of 113,667 a month, above its October level ^[2].
• Xiaomi would need up to 213,510 more vehicles to reach its 550,000 target for 2026, an average of about 106,755 a month, roughly 2.1 times its October floor ^[3].
• Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said on an August earnings call that Xpeng would aim to exceed 60,000 monthly sales in the fourth quarter, which requires about a 19.43% increase from October ^[4].

These are distances between October actuals and stated targets, on each company's own basis. Proportionally, Xiaomi has the most riding on November and December volume.

CPCA's report later this month should settle Xiaomi's exact October figure and its model breakdown ^[3]. The October takeaway holds until then.

Read the label before the headline, because the same Sunday brought a record volume month for Leapmotor, a floor statement from Xiaomi, a high with record overseas deliveries for Xpeng and a retreat at Nio and Li Auto, against a retail market still waiting for its October actuals.