(Yicai) May 7 -- Leapmotor was the best-selling Chinese electric vehicle startup again last month, after its sales exceeded those of rival Li Auto in March.

Leapmotor delivered 41,039 cars in April, up 172 percent from a year earlier. Xpeng Motor rose one rung to second place, with deliveries soaring 273 percent to 35,045. Li Auto slipped to third, as it delivered 33,939 autos, a nearly 32 percent increase.

Xiaomi Auto followed suit, with more than 28,000 SU7s handed over, down from over 29,000 the month before, possibly because of a deadly accident involving one of its cars. The company's first EV model, the SU7, hit the market at the end of March last year.

Xiaomi Auto plans to launch its second model, the YU7, a mid-to-large-size coupe sport utility vehicle aimed at competing with Tesla's Model Y, sometime between next month and July.

Nio ranked fifth as it delivered 23,900 cars, up 53 percent from a year earlier. Nio-branded cars accounted for 81 percent, while its Onvo marque made up the rest.

Among China’s large legacy auto producers, BYD, the world's largest NEV maker by sales last year, sold 372,600 cars in April, up 19 percent from a year ago. They included 78,705 passenger cars and pickups sold overseas, which nearly doubled in the period.

SAIC Motor's sales inched up 4.6 percent to 376,500, with EV sales surging 72 percent to 128,100. Meanwhile, the Shanghai-based carmaker's NEV brand IM Motors logged 55 percent sales growth to 4,366.

Sales of Geely Automobile climbed 53 percent to 234,112, with its premium NEV unit Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding recording a 25 percent jump in sales to 40,715.

Chery Automobile sold 200,800 vehicles in April, up over 10 percent year on year.

Changan Automobile's sales fell 9.3 percent to 190,700, but its NEV brand Avatr saw sales soar 123 percent to 11,681. Great Wall Motor sold 100,100 vehicles in April, up 5.6 percent.

Dongfeng Motor's EV marque Voyah sold 10,019 units, an increase of 150 percent from the same period last year.

Due to a high base in March, stemming from the release of demand after the Chinese New Year holiday the month before, and increased buyer hesitation ahead of new model releases at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this month, the car market transitioned smoothly last month, according to a research report by China Galaxy Securities.

But NEV adoption continued to rise. With the conclusion of the auto show and the influx of new models, the demand for new vehicles is expected to increase further, supporting a sales rebound.

Editor: Futura Costaglione