"The Car News Weekly" releases the July auto manufacturer sales rankings; Li Auto L9 Pro officially launched, priced at 429,800 yuan.

"The Car News Weekly" releases the July auto manufacturer sales rankings; Li Auto L9 Pro officially launched, priced at 429,800 yuan.

Car News Weekly

The special channel provides you with authoritative, comprehensive, timely, and compelling in-depth coverage, meticulously outlining the latest developments in the automotive industry—including news on autonomous driving, automaker updates, and cutting-edge AI insights.

The National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry Metrology and Testing Center Officially Established After Acceptance

The State Administration for Market Regulation recently officially approved the establishment of the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry Metrology and Testing Center, based at Shanghai Automotive Vehicle Inspection and Certification Technology Research Center Co., Ltd.

Currently, intelligent connected vehicles are still in the early stages of industrialization. Key components—such as millimeter-wave radar, image recognition cameras, LiDAR, high-precision satellite positioning systems (including GPS and BeiDou), and in-vehicle wireless communication modules—as well as advanced driver-assistance systems for intelligent connected cars—like adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane keeping assist (LKA), automatic emergency braking systems (AEBS), automated parking systems (AP), and blind-spot detection systems (BSD)—all require precise metrological testing to ensure their operational performance is accurate and reliable.

Weekly Retail Trends of the National Passenger Vehicle Market in the Fifth Week of July

During the last week of July (July 24 to July 30), sales totaled 458,100 vehicles, declining 12.8% year-on-year but rising 11.57% compared to the previous week.

In the last week of July, new energy vehicle sales exceeded 156,800 units, representing a year-on-year increase of 24.6%. While this growth rate was slightly lower than in previous periods, it still marked a solid performance. Meanwhile, month-on-month sales rose by less than 10%, and the market penetration rate remained below 35%.

During the last week of July, mainstream automakers generally saw year-on-year sales increases, with several brands—including Volkswagen and GAC Trumpchi—experiencing growth in their final week of the month.

July New Force Automotive Sales Ranking

According to the sales report, BYD remains firmly at the top of the list, with monthly sales reaching a new record high of 262,161 vehicles—up 61.30% year-on-year. Meanwhile, total sales from January to July climbed to 1,517,798 units, representing an impressive 88.81% increase compared to the same period last year.

Currently, among China's new EV brands, Li Auto remains at the top, with July sales reaching 34,134 vehicles—once again breaking a new all-time high. Notably, Li Auto has now surpassed 30,000 units for two consecutive months.

Among all automakers that have announced their sales figures, NIO recorded the largest sales growth. In May, its sales stood at 6,155 vehicles, which surged to 10,707 units by June. By July, NIO's sales nearly doubled again, reaching 20,462 vehicles—representing a year-over-year increase of 103.6% and a month-over-month rise of 91.1%. Truly, NIO has executed a perfect "three-stage jump" in its sales performance.

In July, Leapmotor delivered a total of 14,335 new vehicles. Meanwhile, as sales surged across the entire new-energy vehicle industry, XPeng also broke through the 10,000-unit mark, recording sales of 11,008 vehicles for the month—up 27.7% from the previous quarter. Notably, the XPeng G6 achieved the highest sales volume; since its launch at the end of June, the model has been highly anticipated, already securing 35,000 pre-orders shortly after hitting the market.

Zeekr's July sales also surged to a new all-time high, reaching 12,039 vehicles—up 139.7% year-on-year and 13.4% month-on-month.

The Ideal L9 Pro is now available, with a price of 429,800 yuan.

On August 3, Li Auto unexpectedly announced the official launch of the L9 Pro model, priced at 429,800 yuan, with deliveries set to begin within August. The Li Auto L9 will offer users two versions—Pro and Max—effectively covering the entire price range of 400,000 to 500,000 yuan.

The vehicle's intelligent driving system, AD Max, has been downgraded to AD Pro, matching the Pro versions of the L7 and L8 models. It features one Horizon Journey 5 chip with 128 TOPS of computing power, one 8-megapixel camera, nine 2-megapixel cameras, one millimeter-wave radar, and 12 ultrasonic radars, enabling advanced highway NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) assisted driving functionality.

The Max model is equipped with AD Max, Ideal's intelligent driving system, powered by two NVIDIA Orin-X processors delivering a total computing power of 508 TOPS. Meanwhile, the Pro model features the AD Pro intelligent driving assistance system and now comes standard with the Journey 5 chip.

BMW Group: Results Released, Domestic Sales Continue to Rise

On August 3, BMW Group announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2023. In the second quarter, the BMW Group generated total revenue of €37.219 billion, equivalent to approximately RMB 292 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.0%. The company’s net profit reached €2.958 billion, or about RMB 23.55 billion.

It is reported that BMW Group's R&D spending increased by 15.4% in the first half of the year, with a strong focus on electrification and autonomous driving. Meanwhile, capital expenditures rose by 10.3%. Higher material and manufacturing costs also directly impacted the company's performance during the first half of the year.

According to previously released sales data, BMW Group delivered a total of 1,214,864 vehicles under the BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce brands in the first half of this year. Among them, BMW-branded vehicles accounted for 1,071,326 units. In the domestic market, the Group’s second-quarter deliveries increased by 16.2% year-on-year, reaching 198,161 vehicles, while first-half sales rose by 3.6% compared to the same period last year, totaling 393,261 vehicles.

AMD: Considering Customizing AI Chips for the Chinese Market

According to CNBC, chip manufacturing giant AMD said it sees an opportunity to develop AI chips specifically tailored for the Chinese market, in order to comply with U.S. export control measures.

AMD is preparing to ramp up production of its MI300 chip. Su noted that AMD expects its data center business in the second half of the year to grow by around 50% compared to the first half, thanks in part to the MI300 AI chip.

Qualcomm: Collaborating with Hyundai to develop in-vehicle infotainment systems for dedicated vehicles

On August 3, Qualcomm Technologies announced a technical collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group in the field of purpose-built vehicles (PBVs).

As a future-oriented mobility solution, the PBV is designed to provide transportation services as well as additional offerings that cater to diverse individual needs—such as comfort, logistics, business activities, and healthcare.

As part of the technical collaboration, Hyundai will integrate the latest Snapdragon® Automotive Cockpit Platforms into its PBV infotainment system, delivering a comprehensive, seamlessly connected, and intelligent user experience.

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