Key Takeaways
- February saw dramatic drops in Chinese EV deliveries, with BYD falling 41% and XPeng plummeting 50% compared to last year.
- The trio of NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng recorded their weakest combined monthly performance since early 2023.
- Tesla’s China sales totaled approximately 631,000 vehicles in 2025, marking a 4% decline and the company’s first yearly drop in the market.
- Despite shrinking EV deliveries, Tesla stock has climbed 37% year-over-year, powered by optimism around AI initiatives.
- An upcoming March 9 deadline requires Tesla to provide crash data for its robotaxi operations to the NHTSA.
The Chinese electric vehicle market stumbled significantly at the beginning of 2026, with delivery figures painting a challenging picture across the industry.
BYD’s February numbers showed 187,782 passenger vehicles delivered, representing a substantial 41% year-over-year decrease. The automaker’s purely electric segment dropped 36% to 79,539 units.
XPeng experienced an even steeper decline, delivering just 15,256 vehicles—a 50% plunge from the previous year. Li Auto fared somewhat better with 26,421 deliveries, slipping 5%. NIO emerged as the exception, achieving 20,797 deliveries and posting a robust 57% year-over-year increase.
When combined, the three companies—NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng—delivered 62,474 vehicles total, representing a 10.6% decline from the same period last year. This performance marks their weakest collective showing since the start of 2023.
For BYD, the February drop represents its most severe year-over-year delivery decline in available records dating back to 2021.
Tesla’s fortunes are intertwined with China’s market dynamics. The Chinese market represented 22% of Tesla’s total revenue during 2025. The electric vehicle maker delivered approximately 631,000 vehicles in China last year—a roughly 4% decrease from 2024, marking its inaugural annual sales contraction in the region.
On a worldwide basis, Tesla delivered around 1.6 million vehicles throughout 2025, reflecting an almost 9% year-over-year decline. This represents back-to-back years of falling annual deliveries for the automaker.
Artificial Intelligence Fueling Share Price Performance
Contrary to what declining delivery numbers might suggest, Tesla stock started the week trading approximately 37% higher than twelve months earlier. Market participants are primarily valuing the company’s artificial intelligence roadmap over traditional automotive metrics.
Tesla initiated an autonomous robotaxi program in Austin, Texas during June 2025. Expansion plans include additional cities during the first half of 2026, alongside anticipated unveiling of its third-generation Optimus humanoid robot this year.
These AI-focused developments currently carry more weight with investors than conventional delivery statistics. Nevertheless, vehicle sales remain critical—they produce the majority of Tesla’s operating cash flow, which finances its AI research and development.
Upcoming NHTSA Safety Reporting Requirement
Investors are closely monitoring another significant date: March 9.
Tesla faces a deadline on or before March 9 to provide crash data concerning possible FSD traffic violations to the NHTSA. This submission relates to an ongoing federal safety investigation.
Since launching its Austin robotaxi program in June 2025, Tesla has documented 14 incidents. When the NHTSA initiated its investigation, the agency had identified 58 incidents, with Tesla reportedly required to examine over 8,300 records.
Analyzing the 14 disclosed collisions reveals many happened at extremely low speeds or while stationary. Multiple instances reportedly involved the robotaxi already stopped when contact occurred. These incident reports don’t determine liability.
Tesla’s published safety statistics indicate supervised FSD experiences a significant collision every 5.3 million miles, contrasting sharply with the U.S. national average of one collision per 660,000 miles for human drivers.
Competitive pressures are evident across Chinese EV manufacturers as well. NIO stock has gained 5% over the trailing twelve months. Li Auto has fallen 43%, XPeng declined 18%, and BYD dropped 23%.
