(Yicai Global) Sept. 2 -- Hozon Auto, which owns the Nezha electric car brand, reportedly delivered more autos again last month than any other Chinese new energy vehicle startup.

Hozon Auto handed over 16,000 cars to buyers in August, up 142 percent from a year ago, The Paper said today, citing data the Shanghai-based firm released yesterday. Leapmotor Technology ranked second with 12,000, a jump of 180 percent. From January through last month, Hozon delivered 93,200 vehicles and Leapmotor 76,600. Both are second-tier car brands.

Among the first-tier players, Nio delivered 10,700 vehicles, up 82 percent, while Xpeng Motors handed over 9,578, a 33 percent gain. Deliveries from Li Auto more than halved to 4,571.

Industry insiders believe it will become commonplace for second-tier brands such as Hozon Auto and Leapmotor, which sell lower-priced vehicles, to outdo first-tier rivals for deliveries. Their cars cost no more than CNY100,000 (USD14,490) each, much less than more up-market competitors.

The higher the price, the smaller a car’s market share is, according to Zhang Xiang, an auto analyst at Zhongbolian Think Tank, so cheaper vehicles have a bigger market capacity.

The market had anticipated the sharp decline in Li Auto’s sales, mainly because the carmaker is about to roll out new models, The Paper reported. Li Auto has just started delivering the L9 sport utility vehicle, while the L8, a cheaper version of the Li One, another SUV, will launch soon.

The L8 will be released in early November and deliveries will commence in the same month, Li Auto co-founder and President Shen Yanan said yesterday.

Editor: Futura Costaglione