According to the information released by China Automobile Industry Association on April 12, China's automobile production and sales reached 6.3357 million units and 6.3724 million units respectively from January to March, down 9.81% and 11.32% from the same period last year.

The production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 304,000 and 298,900 respectively, double and 1.1 times higher than the same period last year. China's new automobile manufacturers also performed well in the first quarter of 2019.

WM Motor Delivered 4,085 Vehicles in Q1

On April 9th, WM Motor officially announced its deliveries for the first quarter of 2019 - a total of 4,085. By the end of March, WM Motor has started the delivery work in 29 cities across the country. In January 2019, the delivery volume of WM was 1,864. However, only 584 vehicles were delivered in February due to the influence of the Spring Festival and other factors, and deliveries rose in March to 1,637 units. In the first quarter, total deliveries of WM 4,085 exceeded NIO's 3,989.

In addition, the company provided a total of 1.9 million kWh (kilowatt-hours) of charging service, which translates to a range of 14.51 million kilometres in the first quarter of 2019, according to data released by WM. But with the company aiming to sell 100,000 vehicles in 2019, the pressure in the next three quarters is palpable.

NIO's Deliveries Have Dropped Dramatically

On April 2, NIO announced the company's deliveries for the first quarter of 2019. According to the data, the total deliveries of NIO ES8 reached 15,337, including 3,989 in the first quarter of 2019. A total of 1,373 ES8 vehicles were delivered in March, 811 in February and 1,373 in January.

Indeed, NIO predicted a month-on-month decline in deliveries at the end of last year.

NIO's chief financial officer, XIE Dongying (谢东萤), has said: "we expect a higher-than-expected quarter-on-quarter decline in deliveries in the first quarter, due in part to an acceleration in deliveries at the end of last year due to a reduction in Chinese EV subsidies in 2019, and a seasonal decline during the New Year and Spring Festival holidays.”

Based on the judgment of the electric vehicle subsidy policy and macroeconomic trend in 2019, NIO expects that the delivery volume in the second quarter of 2019 will still be in a downturn. However, orders for ES6 may increase after ES6 enters the NIO Center in May.

The decline of subsidies will inevitably have a certain negative impact on the sales of new energy vehicles in the short term. On the evening of March 31, NIO officially announced that from April 1, the deposit of ES8 and ES6 models was reduced from CNY 45,000 to CNY 20,000. The amount of the intention fee was reduced from 5,000 to 2,000. There are also a number of limited-time financial products for ES8 users who paid a deposit and bought a car in April.

XPeng Motor's Delivery Volume May Unsatisfactory

According to Sohu website, XPeng Motors delivered 599 vehicles in January and 600 in February 2019. Despite the dismal Numbers, HE Xiaopeng, chairman of XPeng Motors, announced a commitment to deliver 10,000 G3 by the end of July 2019 and 40,000 by the end of the year. But the exact number is uncertain because XPeng did not disclose official delivery figures for the first quarter of 2019.