Chinese Xpeng and Nio manufacture 100,000 electric cars in less time than Tesla

BEIJING – Chinese electric car makers are striving to increase production, faster than Tesla in its early days.

US start-up Xpeng said on Monday it had produced 100,000 cars, six years after the company’s launch.

Rival electric car start-up Nio said in April it had hit the 100,000 production vehicle milestone. The US-listed company was founded in late November 2014 under a different name and became Nio in July 2017, about four years ago.

By comparison, Elon Musk’s Tesla took 12 years from its launch in 2003 to produce 100,000 vehicles, according to public documents. Tesla faced many production delays, especially in its early years. The American electric car maker has since increased its production capacity with new factories in Shanghai and Berlin.

To be clear, Tesla is still a lot bigger in comparison.

The electric car maker has crossed the 1 millionth automobile brand more than a year ago in March 2020, Musk said in a tweet.

Production in the third quarter alone reached 238,000 vehicles. The company’s shares are up 11% year-to-date.

Xpeng shares listed in the United States are down 12% year-to-date. Nio’s stock is down more than 25% since the start of the year.

Chinese battery and electric vehicle maker BYD said in May it had produced 1 million passenger cars in the new-energy vehicle category, which includes battery-only cars and hybrid cars.

BYD shares traded in Hong Kong have risen more than 25% so far this year. The company’s backers include Berkshire Hathaway of US billionaire Warren Buffett.