Extended-range vehicles see biggest drop in nearly 5 years, just waiting for Xiaomi to step in and save the day?
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Author | Zhou Zhiyu
For the past three years, range extenders have been the least disputed answer in China's car market.
Li Auto climbed to the top of new energy sales with range extenders, AITO relied on them for a comeback. By 2025, even the staunchest pure EV players collectively pivoted, with Xpeng launching the Kunpeng Super Range Extender, IM Motors and Avatr lining up to follow. "No range anxiety" became the default phrase at new model launches.
The turning point came faster than anyone expected.
According to data released by the China Automobile Dealers Association’s Automotive Market Research Branch (hereafter "CPCA") on June 11, wholesale sales of range extender models in May fell by 24.9% year-on-year, marking the largest single-month drop in five years. Meanwhile, wholesale sales of new energy vehicles continued growing at double-digit rates in the same month, making range extenders the only declining segment.
But the chips on the table are still increasing. From Xpeng and Leapmotor to Xiaomi, a batch of new cars initiated during the peak of range extenders are lining up to enter this market which has already turned.
It takes two to three years to move a car from initial project to market release. When this batch was set, range extenders were the fastest-growing category in the car market; by the time they're coming off the line, the market has already changed direction.
Changes within the Drop
In May’s retail top ten list for new energy vehicles, only one model still offers a range extender version: the AITO M6. Expanding to the overall market, only three range extender cars sold more than 5,000 units in May: AITO M6, AITO M7, and SAIC Volkswagen ID.ERA 9X.
Many remember how this list looked two years ago: Li Auto’s L series and AITO M7 dominated, "dual power" temporarily made up half of the new energy segment.
But in May this year, range extender wholesale was 95,000 units, with market share in new energy shrinking to 7%. Pure EVs grew 16.6% year-on-year, and plug-in hybrids grew by more than 10%. Only range extenders declined.
This month saw the largest year-on-year drop in the range extender market over the past five months. February 2026 saw a 20.1% drop, April down 9.1%, and in the first five months, cumulative wholesale at 410,000 units – nearly 10% less than last year. Looking further back, retail sales of range extenders grew at almost 80% in 2024, but full-year growth in 2025 dropped abruptly to 6%.
Why are range extenders falling so sharply? On June 11, CPCA Secretary-General Cui Dongshu analyzed for Wallstreetcn that range extenders overall dropped mainly due to the aggressive transition of Li Auto.
Looking at specific data: in May 2025, Li Auto delivered 40,856 units, i6 hadn't launched yet and nearly all were range extenders. This May, Li Auto delivered 33,350, with three consecutive months of i6 sales over 20,000 units, leaving barely 10,000 units for the L series range extenders. Within one year, Li Auto alone reduced monthly range extender deliveries by 29,000 units, while the entire industry's year-on-year reduction was about 31,500 units.
In other words, the largest single-month drop in range extenders in five years was largely caused by Li Auto’s change in sales structure. Li Auto paid the price, with total deliveries in May falling 18.37% year-on-year.
This shift isn't limited to one company. CPCA data shows that in the new EV camp, the pure EV vs range extender sales ratio shifted from 59:41 in 2024 to 71:29 in 2025. In May, pure EV sales made up 81% of new force models, up from 58.9% a year prior – a jump of more than 22 percentage points in a year, and this ratio is sinking into the 100,000–150,000 RMB price range. Over 80% of Leapmotor C10 buyers chose pure EVs in the past year.
There are multiple reasons behind this change. By the end of April, nationwide public charging piles neared 5 million, with ultra-fast coverage in highway service areas over 98%. Battery costs declined for two consecutive years. For the same models, range extender versions actually cost more than battery versions, erasing price gaps between pure EV and range extenders. Policy and fuel prices also shifted: purchase tax moved from exemption to halved, range extender's minimum range threshold was raised, and old weaknesses over 8L/100km gas consumption hit higher fuel prices.
The rationale for "anxiety prevention," once the foundation for range extenders, is losing ground. With the biggest player exiting, the seat order at the table begins to reshuffle.
A Divided Market
Among players betting on range extenders, Xpeng bet the heaviest and was first to hit the market shift.
In November 2024, when He Xiaopeng launched Kunpeng Super Range Extender, he defined range extenders as a technology route "coexisting long-term" with pure EVs. 2026 was set as Xpeng's "dual power" milestone year, with seven dual-power models planned. In Q1, range extender versions of G6, G7, and P7+ launched as scheduled, but early buyers coincided with February's drop in range extender sales.
According to Xpeng GX sales data 12 hours after launch, more than 24,800 orders, with pure EVs accounting for over half.
Range extender suppliers’ production and sales curves closely track the market. Dong'an Power, supplying Xpeng, Voyah, and others, saw engine sales drop 21.1% in April and 25.44% in May year-on-year; in the first five months, accumulated engine sales dropped 9.79%, while the range extender market fell 9.7% in the same period.
But battle reports show another picture. AITO defended its range extender base: its M6 delivered over 20,000 units in its debut month after late April launch, M9 launched May 27 with over 20,000 units ordered in 24 hours. The M8 is even more telling: Q1 range extender version sold over 15,000 units, while the pure EV version was under 5,000. For dual versions, choices above 300,000 RMB differ completely from those in the 150,000–250,000 RMB range.
Range extenders aren't failing overall; they’re undergoing structural change by price bands.
High-end range extenders remain strong, not just for long-distance backup. A traditional automaker executive explained to Wallstreetcn that high-end features like fridges, TVs, big sofas all consume electricity, so a large battery is their foundation, and hardcore SUVs need a backup that won’t stall. Thus, in high-end models, range extenders are a solid solution.
In the mass market, users care more about range and energy replenishment costs, etc. Cui Dongshu also believes that for those with commuting needs or insufficient charging infrastructure, range extenders and plug-in hybrids are better choices.
But current data shows the 300,000 RMB family range extender market Li Auto pioneered is in a suspended state: the demand hasn't disappeared, but there's no one fully catching the baton.
Bets Still on the Road
Those eyeing this empty seat, along with the next batch of range extender models, are listed in MIIT’s declaration system.
MIIT’s 408th batch of new vehicle announcements on June 10 provided an overview of this mismatch.
In this batch, 802 pure EV models, only 123 plug-in hybrids and range extenders combined. In the same period a year ago, plug-in hybrids and range extenders outnumbered pure EVs in passenger car declarations. Carmaker projects have secretly turned.
But bets already on the road are hard to recall. According to CMB International, there will be 54 range extender vehicles launched in 2026, nearly three times 2024.
At the end of last year, brokerages predicted 2026 plug-in and range extender wholesale growth would reach 31%, triple that of pure EVs. Yet just five months later, range extenders became the only negative growth segment in new energy. The faster the consensus collapsed, the deeper the mismatch.
A new EV executive told Wallstreetcn that doing range extenders is a "helpless" choice. Compared to range extenders, plug-in hybrids have advantages in some scenarios and are more appealing to mid-low-end consumers. But due to manufacturing license restrictions, most new EV makers can’t produce plug-in hybrids, so they have to choose range extenders.
Leapmotor D19’s range extender version with an 80.3 kWh battery is awaiting delivery, Xpeng’s large range extender SUV is still in the pipeline. These vehicles have one thing in common: pure EV range usually exceeds 300 km, double that of previous generation range extender models.
The most anticipated card is in Xiaomi’s hands. The first Xiaomi range extender SUV, long rumored, also aims to inherit the void left by Li Auto’s retreat – after all, there isn’t a fully established successor for the 300,000 RMB family range extender users.
Cui Dongshu also told Wallstreetcn that Xiaomi’s new range extender vehicle "should" stimulate this sub-market.
With Xpeng, Zeekr, Xiaomi, and others launching range extender products, mid-to-high end market share for range extenders can still grow.
Supply chain movements reveal the weight of these bets.
CATL just upgraded its dedicated range hybrid "Xiaoyao" battery to second generation in April, with pure EV range up to 600 km. Their confidence is statistically justified: in 2025, over 95% of range hybrid cars with pure EV range above 300 km use Xiaoyao. Sunwoda’s new batch supply customers in 2026 include Xiaomi and SAIC Volkswagen.
While demand is waning, supply chain competition is heating up.
This seemingly contradictory betting has a data explanation. According to GGII, global new energy vehicle sales fell 7% in Jan-Feb, but power battery installed capacity grew 5%, driven by higher battery content per vehicle. For range extenders, it’s even clearer: Li Auto L6’s battery is 35.8 kWh, Leapmotor D19 has 80.3 kWh, doubling in two years.
Battery makers are no longer betting on expansion in range extender volume, but on every surviving range extender being a high-capacity version.
But the closer large battery range extenders are to pure EVs, the harder it is to rebut the "transition technology" argument. When a range extender car carries an 80 kWh battery and 800V fast charging, the only difference from a pure EV is an engine mostly silent. The rationale for paying for that engine is disappearing across price bands; domestically, only the 300,000 RMB+ line still holds.
Especially as solid-state batteries and other new technologies mature, solving pure EV’s range bottleneck due to vehicle weight, the high-end segment is likely to shift further from range extenders to high-capacity pure EVs, erasing the difference between the two even more.
Another outlet is overseas. CPCA data shows range extenders accounted for 4.4% of new energy vehicle exports in May, up from 2.0% a year earlier. Based on this, range extender exports in May reached about 19,000 units, quietly consuming one-fifth of total wholesale.
The most compelling action is from Li Auto: the domestic company shifting focus to pure EVs disclosed at its Q1 earnings that it signed with dealers in Saudi Arabia and UAE, and will introduce L series range extender product lines to the Middle East in Q3, with the first model specifically customized for local charging conditions, the overseas version of the new L9. Where fast charging networks are sparse, "anxiety prevention" is still an absolute necessity.
But this overseas outlet is not enough to act as a buffer yet. Removing exports from wholesale, actual domestic range extender decline in May is even higher.
Scheduling for the second half is full. In Q3, Li Auto’s overseas L9 goes to the Middle East, Leapmotor D19 range extender version enters delivery ramp-up, Xiaomi’s first range extender SUV will debut in H2.
Supply chain expectations for H2 are high. Dong'an Power stated in mid-May that major clients will launch range extender products later this year and production capacity is being prepared, expecting yearly range extender sales to increase significantly. The supplier didn’t disclose the client, but nobody would preheat production lines for a declining market.
The seat Li Auto left behind is still empty. In the second half of the year, the first to reach for it will appear.
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