So 95,000 vehicles were delivered in Q1 2026, a 2% increase. All things considered, a positive result I would have thought. The next three quarters will reveal more.
The i6 model accounted for 24,000 deliveries in March, which is nearly 60% of the total. Li Auto is officially entering markets in the Middle East and Central Asia while exploring opportunities elsewhere, possibly Europe.
Data & photo source: Li Auto (Li6 & Li9).
Lucid had a tepid start to 2026 with 3,093 vehicles delivered. Considering the fall in electric vehicle sales, it could have been worse but definitely could have been better. A quality issue with a supplier was cited as the reason for the disappointing delivery number.
If that was the case, why were 5,500 units made? Did they make the vehicles and will retro fit the second row seats, which were the problem? If so, then the difference is understandable. Production was up 149% compared to a low Q1 2025 figure.
Lucid is predicting production for 2026 to be in the 25-27,000 area. One would assume deliveries will come close to that and right there is the challenge ahead.
Data and photos : Lucid (Gravity model).
BYD has recently been flying high. Massive increases in deliveries have been so large that it was hard to comprehend the scale of it all. It always had to hit a ceiling sometime but when?
Q4 2025 gave a hint of what might have been coming, but sometimes quarterly figures can be aberrations rather than solid trends. A slow down of car sales and aggressive competition in China suggested the latter. Q1 2026 seems to confirm that Q4 '25 wasn't going to be an exception.
Deliveries of electric cars were down 25% when comparing quarters. Q2 2020 was the last time a drop percentagewise was greater. When adding hybrid cars, a similar drop (-29%) was recorded.
With domestic deliveries suffering, overseas markets are being pursued. They are now reaching 40% of the total, which is the highest it has been. 1.5 million units for overseas deliveries is the target BYD has set for 2026.
Data source: BYD. Picture source: BYD (BYD Dolphin & Denza B8).
