Key Takeaways
- February witnessed a dramatic decline in Chinese EV deliveries, with BYD experiencing a 41% decrease and XPeng plummeting 50% compared to last year.
- The trio of NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng recorded their poorest monthly performance since the beginning of 2023.
- Tesla’s Chinese market deliveries reached approximately 631,000 vehicles in 2025, representing a 4% decrease — marking the company’s inaugural yearly drop in the region.
- Despite declining vehicle deliveries, Tesla stock has surged 37% year-over-year, powered by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence initiatives.
- The NHTSA has set March 9 as the deadline for Tesla to provide crash data concerning its autonomous taxi operations.
The Chinese electric vehicle market experienced a turbulent February 2026, with delivery figures revealing concerning trends across the industry.
BYD’s February passenger vehicle deliveries totaled 187,782 units, representing a significant 41% year-over-year contraction. The company’s fully electric vehicle segment experienced a 36% decline, reaching 79,539 units.
XPeng’s deliveries plummeted to 15,256 vehicles, marking a dramatic 50% year-over-year reduction. Li Auto reported 26,421 deliveries, experiencing a more modest 5% decrease. NIO emerged as the sole outlier, announcing 20,797 deliveries — representing a robust 57% year-over-year increase.
The aggregate deliveries for NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng totaled 62,474 vehicles, declining 10.6% compared to the previous year. This figure represents the weakest combined monthly result recorded since the start of 2023.
BYD experienced its most severe year-over-year delivery contraction since data collection commenced in 2021.
Tesla’s exposure to the Chinese market remains substantial. The region contributed 22% to Tesla’s total revenue in 2025. The automaker delivered approximately 631,000 vehicles in China during 2025 — reflecting a roughly 4% decrease from 2024, marking its inaugural annual sales contraction in the market.
On a worldwide basis, Tesla delivered around 1.6 million vehicles throughout 2025, down nearly 9% from the previous year. This represents back-to-back annual delivery declines for the electric vehicle manufacturer.
Artificial Intelligence Fuels Stock Momentum Over Vehicle Sales
Notwithstanding declining delivery numbers, Tesla stock began the week trading approximately 37% higher than twelve months prior. Market participants are predominantly valuing the company’s artificial intelligence roadmap rather than its automotive operations.
Tesla initiated an autonomous robotaxi operation in Austin, Texas during June 2025. The company has outlined plans to broaden the service to additional metropolitan areas during the first six months of 2026 and intends to reveal the third-generation iteration of its Optimus humanoid robot sometime this year.
These artificial intelligence achievements carry greater weight with investors currently than quarterly vehicle delivery reports. However, EV deliveries remain critical — they produce the majority of Tesla’s operating cash flow, which finances its AI research and development.
NHTSA Safety Data Submission Due March 9
Investors are closely monitoring another important milestone: March 9.
Tesla must provide crash data connected to possible FSD traffic violations to the NHTSA by that date. This submission forms part of an ongoing NHTSA inquiry.
Since launching its Austin robotaxi operations in June 2025, Tesla has documented 14 incidents. When the NHTSA initiated its investigation, it identified 58 incidents, with Tesla reportedly required to examine over 8,300 records.
Analyzing the 14 documented collisions reveals that numerous incidents happened at extremely low speeds or while stationary. Multiple reports indicate the robotaxi had come to a complete stop prior to impact. The incident reports do not determine responsibility.
Tesla’s internally published safety metrics indicate that a significant crash involving supervised FSD occurs approximately every 5.3 million miles, contrasting with the national driver average of 660,000 miles.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s Chinese competitors face their own challenges. NIO stock has appreciated 5% over the trailing twelve months. Li Auto has declined 43%, XPeng is down 18%, and BYD has fallen 23%.
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