(Yicai) Sept. 2 -- Leapmotor Technology handed over more than 100,000 cars to buyers for the second consecutive month in August, retaining the top spot for deliveries among China’s electric vehicle startups for 30 months in a row.

Leapmotor delivered a record 103,100 vehicles last month, up 1.8 percent from July and 81 percent from a year earlier, according to figures the Hangzhou-based carmaker released yesterday. In the January to August period, year-on-year deliveries surged 71 percent to 560,900.

Its sales have risen steadily in recent months following the launch of several new models. The company’s global monthly sales topped 101,300 in July, making it China's first EV startup to sell more than 100,000 autos in a single month and putting it in direct competition with mainstream car producers.

Leapmotor’s shares [HKG: 9863] closed 1.4 percent higher at HKD37.02 (USD4.72) each in Hong Kong today, though the stock is still down by almost 24 percent since the end of last year.

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Li Tengfei said on Aug. 24 that the company expects overseas sales to reach 200,000 this year, up from the 100,000 to 150,000 targeted at the start of 2026, as it taps partner Stellantis’ global production and distribution networks. The firm has also raised the bar for next year, aiming to sell 350,000 to 400,000 cars abroad, said Li.

Leapmotor’s August deliveries were well ahead of those of China’s other private EV startups. The five that ranked second to sixth -- Xpeng Motors, Li Auto, Zeekr, Nio, and Xiaomi Auto -- had sales in the region of 30,000 to 40,000 each, according to their data releases. Xpeng handed over 39,107, up 2.8 percent month on month and 4 percent year on year, with its new battery EV, the Mona 03, providing a major sales boost.

Li Auto was third with 37,679 units, a 24 percent jump from the previous month and 32 percent from a year ago. Chairman and Chief Executive Li Xiang said on Aug. 26 that orders for extended-range and BEV models are about 50-50, but noted that as more BEV models launch this month, their share will grow.

BEV-only makers Zeekr and Nio delivered 36,981 and 35,836 units, respectively. Xiaomi Auto did not provide exact figures but said it handed over more than 30,000.

In addition, deliveries by the five traditional carmakers partnered with Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies topped 42,101 last month, down 6.5 percent from July and 5.6 percent from a year earlier. Aito, which ranked first among them, shipped 20,652 autos, a 0.8 percent decline from the previous month and almost half that of a year earlier.

Among EV startups cultivated by large state-owned auto companies, GAC Group's Hyptec & Aion business unit reported the most deliveries at 36,383 units. All other such firms failed to exceed 30,000 deliveries, with Changan Automobile's majority-owned Deepal marque getting the closest at 28,659.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev