Quick Summary
- February saw Chinese electric vehicle deliveries plummet, with BYD falling 41% and XPeng tumbling 50% compared to last year.
- The trio of NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng recorded their weakest collective monthly performance since early 2023.
- In 2025, Tesla delivered approximately 631,000 vehicles in China, marking a 4% decline and the company’s first-ever annual drop in the region.
- Despite weakening vehicle sales, Tesla shares have climbed 37% year-over-year, fueled by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence initiatives.
- A March 9 deadline approaches for Tesla to provide the NHTSA with collision data from its autonomous taxi operations.
The Chinese electric vehicle market kicked off 2026 on shaky ground, with February figures revealing widespread challenges across the industry.
BYD’s February passenger vehicle deliveries totaled 187,782 units, representing a steep 41% decline compared to the same period in 2025. The company’s pure electric vehicle segment dropped 36%, delivering just 79,539 units.
XPeng’s performance was even more concerning, with deliveries of 15,256 vehicles marking a dramatic 50% year-over-year decrease. Li Auto fared slightly better with 26,421 deliveries, though still down 5%. NIO bucked the trend, achieving 20,797 deliveries and posting a 57% annual increase.
Together, the three companies—NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng—delivered 62,474 vehicles, representing a 10.6% decline from February 2025. This represents their poorest combined monthly showing since the beginning of 2023.
The February results marked BYD‘s most significant year-over-year delivery contraction in recorded history dating back to 2021.
Tesla’s fortunes are intertwined with China’s market health. The Chinese market represented 22% of Tesla’s total revenue in 2025. The electric vehicle manufacturer delivered approximately 631,000 vehicles in China last year—a roughly 4% decrease from 2024, marking the company’s inaugural annual sales decline in the world’s largest EV market.
On a worldwide scale, Tesla’s 2025 deliveries reached around 1.6 million vehicles, down nearly 9% year-over-year. This represents the second straight year of declining global deliveries for the automaker.
Artificial Intelligence Expectations Outweigh Vehicle Delivery Concerns
Despite deteriorating sales metrics, Tesla stock has appreciated approximately 37% over the trailing twelve months as of Monday. Market participants are predominantly valuing the company’s artificial intelligence potential rather than its automotive operations.
Tesla initiated an autonomous robotaxi service in Austin, Texas during June 2025. The company has outlined plans to broaden this service to additional metropolitan areas during the first six months of 2026 and intends to introduce the third-generation version of its Optimus humanoid robot sometime this year.
These artificial intelligence achievements carry greater weight with investors currently than traditional delivery statistics. However, vehicle sales remain crucial—they provide the majority of Tesla’s operating cash flow, which finances its AI development efforts.
NHTSA Safety Report Due March 9
Investors are closely monitoring another important date: March 9.
Tesla faces a deadline to provide collision information related to possible Full Self-Driving traffic violations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on or before this date. This submission forms part of an ongoing NHTSA inquiry.
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 separate incidents, with Tesla reportedly needing to examine over 8,300 individual records.
Among the 14 reported collisions, numerous incidents happened at minimal speeds or while stationary. Multiple reports indicate the robotaxi had come to a complete stop prior to contact. These incident reports do not determine responsibility.
Tesla’s publicly available safety statistics indicate that significant crashes with supervised Full Self-Driving occur once every 5.3 million miles, substantially better than the national average of one crash per 660,000 miles for human drivers.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s Chinese competitors are experiencing their own difficulties in the equity markets. NIO shares have gained 5% over the past year. Li Auto has declined 43%, XPeng is down 18%, and BYD has fallen 23%.
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