(Yicai) Oct. 8 -- Sales at most Chinese new energy vehicle makers, including BYD and Li Auto, climbed in September from a year earlier thanks to the country's trade-in and renewal policies and a boost from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

BYD sold 419,426 NEVs last month, up 46 percent from a year earlier, exceeding 400,000 for the first time, the Shenzhen-based firm announced on Oct. 1. Chery Automobile led the gains with a more than 183 percent jump in sales to 58,900 units. SAIC Motor's NEV sales rose 38 percent to 129,000 units.

China's NEV sales likely reached 1.1 million units last month, with a penetration rate of around 52.4 percent, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The stable implementation of national trade-in and renewal policies, local trade-in programs, and the effect of the holiday seasons have driven the rapid growth of the auto market.

Several emerging electric vehicle makers saw record-high deliveries, with those of Beijing-based startup Li Auto jumping 49 percent to 53,700 units in September from a year ago. 

Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, an automotive alliance started by Huawei Technologies, delivered a total of 39,900 vehicles. Some 35,600 of those were NEVs produced under the Aito brand Huawei developed with Seres Group after deliveries soared nearly seven-fold.

Deliveries of Hangzhou-based Leapmotor surged more than 113 percent to 33,800 vehicles, those of Xpeng Motors rose 39 percent to 21,300 units, of Zeekr jumped 77 percent to 21,300 units, and of Nio climbed 35 percent to 21,200 units.

Xiaomi Auto did not disclose its deliveries for last month but noted that the figure continued to exceed 10,000 units while aiming to achieve 20,000 deliveries this month. The car unit of the electronics giant also expects to hit its 100,000 annual delivery goal in November.

Voyah, the high-end EV brand under Chinese state-owned Dongfeng Motor Group, delivered 10,001 vehicles in September, up 149 percent from a year earlier. IM Motors, the joint venture between SAIC Motor, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, and Alibaba Group, saw deliveries surge 150 percent to 4,516 units. 

Competition in the NEV market will intensify in the second half of this year, with domestic brands expected to capture a larger market share, according to a research report by Huafu Securities. Driven by local trade-in subsidy policies, various carmakers seek to boost sales, and the industry's fundamental prosperity will likely continue to grow.

Editor: Martin Kadiev