The company said the Mona L03 will be its first global model to go on sale simultaneously in China and Europe.
Profiles focus on scale, ownership and — most relevant to Canadian readers — international expansion. Covered so far: BYD, Geely, SAIC/MG, XPeng, Chery, NIO and Li Auto.
BYD
- Headquarters
- Shenzhen, China
- Listings
- Hong Kong & Shenzhen stock exchanges
- 2025 BEV sales
- ~2.26 million[1]
- 2025 NEV sales (BEV+PHEV)
- ~4.6 million[2]
In 2025 BYD became the world's largest seller of battery-electric vehicles, surpassing Tesla in full-year BEV sales for the first time. [1] Counting plug-in hybrids, BYD reported roughly 4.6 million new-energy vehicles for the year, with overseas markets a growing share of volume. [2]
On international expansion, BYD reports a presence across more than 100 countries and regions and established its European headquarters in Hungary in 2025 — part of a broader move toward local manufacturing as importing markets raise tariff barriers. [2]
Geely
- Headquarters
- Hangzhou, China
- Key brands
- Geely, Zeekr, Lynk & Co (plus stakes in Volvo & Polestar)
- 2025 total sales
- 3,024,567 units (+39% YoY)[3]
- 2025 NEV sales
- 1,687,767 units (+90% YoY)[3]
- 2025 overseas sales
- ~420,000 units[3]
Geely Auto sold over 3.0 million vehicles in 2025, up 39% year on year, with new-energy vehicles reaching about 1.69 million (up 90%). Overseas sales were roughly 420,000 units, and the group reports expanding into 13 new markets — including the UK, Italy and Poland — for a network spanning 88 countries. [3]
Its premium EV brand Zeekr is the spearhead abroad, operating around 640 stores (100+ overseas) and pushing across Europe; Geely has signalled plans to more than double combined Zeekr and Lynk & Co overseas sales. As with BYD, the strategy increasingly pairs exports with local production to navigate import barriers. [3, 4]
SAIC / MG
- Parent
- SAIC Motor (state-owned), Shanghai
- Lead export brand
- MG
- 2025 MG sales in Europe
- 300,000+ units[5]
- EU countervailing duty
- 35.3% (highest of sampled makers)[6]
MG, owned by state-owned SAIC Motor, has the deepest European footprint of any Chinese brand. In 2025 Europe was MG's single largest market, with more than 300,000 vehicles sold there and the MG4 ranking among Europe's best-selling EVs. [5] SAIC also drew the highest EU anti-subsidy duty, 35.3%, of the three sampled producers. [6]
XPeng
- Headquarters
- Guangzhou, China
- Listings
- NYSE & Hong Kong
- 2025 deliveries
- 429,445 (+126% YoY)[7]
- 2025 overseas deliveries
- 45,008 (+96% YoY), 60 countries[7]
XPeng, a smart-EV maker listed in New York and Hong Kong, roughly doubled volume in 2025 to a record 429,445 deliveries. [7] Overseas deliveries reached 45,008 (up 96%) as it pushed past 1,000 sales outlets across 60 countries — including an aggressive European build-out spanning 28 countries. [7, 8]
Chery
- Headquarters
- Wuhu, Anhui, China
- Profile
- China's largest vehicle exporter (23 years running)
- 2025 total sales
- 2,806,393 units[9]
- 2025 exports
- 1,344,020 units (+17.4% YoY)[9]
Chery is China's largest vehicle exporter, a position it has held for 23 consecutive years. In 2025 it sold about 2.81 million vehicles, of which roughly 1.34 million were exported (up 17.4%); its best-sellers include combustion SUVs such as the Tiggo 8, so much of its volume is not pure-electric. [9]
NIO
- Headquarters
- Shanghai, China
- Listings
- NYSE, Hong Kong & Singapore
- Brands
- NIO (premium), ONVO (family), FIREFLY (small car)
- 2025 deliveries
- 326,028 (+46.9% YoY)[10]
NIO, a premium smart-EV maker listed in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, delivered a record 326,028 vehicles in 2025, up 46.9% year on year, closing December at a monthly high of 48,135 across its three brands — NIO (premium), ONVO (family) and FIREFLY (small cars). [10]
Internationally, the new Firefly small-EV brand is the export spearhead: NIO said in April 2025 it would enter 16 markets across five continents within the year, using third-party dealers and partners alongside its own channels — a lighter model than the company-owned 'NIO House' approach it used in Europe. [11]
Li Auto
- Headquarters
- Beijing, China
- Listings
- NASDAQ & Hong Kong
- 2025 deliveries
- 406,343 (−18.8% YoY)[12]
- Cumulative deliveries
- 1,540,215 (as of Dec 31, 2025)[13]
- Retail network
- 548 stores in 159 cities (China)[13]
Li Auto built its volume on extended-range electric SUVs for families. 2025 was its first real setback: deliveries fell to 406,343 vehicles, down 18.8% from 2024 amid intensifying competition, even as December (44,246) was its best month of the year and cumulative deliveries passed 1.5 million. [12, 13]
Its international push is early but distinctive in direction: in late 2025 it introduced the Li L9, L7 and L6 to Egypt, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, beginning to establish a presence across Central Asia, the Caucasus and Africa rather than leading with Western Europe. [13]