Leapmotor Surges Back to Lead NEV Startups in February 2026, Overtaking HIMA as Xpeng Falls to Bottom

Vehicle deliveries for new energy vehicle startups in February 2026 declined overall from January, primarily due to the slowdown from the Chinese New Year holiday. Leapmotor claimed the top spot with 28,067 units sold, overtaking Huawei's HIMA brand, though this represented a 12.5% decrease from the previous month; year-over-year, sales increased by 11%. The company's cumulative deliveries for 2026 now exceed 60,000, placing it second behind HIMA in the year-to-date rankings. Li Auto climbed two positions from January's fourth place, delivering 26,421 vehicles—a 4.5% monthly decline but a 0.6% rise from February 2025. The company plans to launch its new Li L9 Livis full-size six-seat SUV in the second quarter. HIMA dropped to third with 21,517 units, a sharp decline from January's 57,915; among its sub-brands, Aito led with around 18,000 deliveries. Nio took fourth place with 20,797 vehicles in total, including 15,159 from the Nio brand, 2,981 from Onvo, and 2,657 from Firefly. This marked a 57.6% year-over-year increase, pushing Nio's all-time cumulative deliveries to 1,045,571. Xiaomi delivered more than 20,000 units and is preparing for mass production of its upcoming SU7 model. Xpeng ranked sixth and last among the major NEV startups, with 15,256 sales reflecting a 23.8% monthly decrease and a 49.9% drop year-over-year, extending a two-month downward trend. Data comes from official announcements by the NEV startups.