Guolian Minsheng Securities: New energy vehicles outperform the industry in January, with intelligent capabilities becoming a key competitive factor.

Guolian Minsheng Securities released a research report stating that the automotive intelligence era has arrived, and there are opportunities for autonomous technology output incubation. Intelligent capabilities will become an important factor in the competition among car manufacturers. As autonomous new players accelerate the landing of urban assisted driving, the bank believes that intelligent driving is gradually reaching a triple inflection point in terms of technology, user acceptance, and business models. They are optimistic about high-quality autonomous car companies that are relatively ahead in intelligent layout, product cycles, and brand cycles. The mid-term growth of components continues to strengthen, with a positive outlook on the new energy industry chain and intelligent electrification. Components are currently undervalued, and their mid-term growth continues to strengthen, with a positive outlook on the new energy industry chain and the framework for intelligent electrification. Quality customers = Huawei Smart Selection > Independent Brands > New Energy Brands > Joint Venture Brands; Quality tracks = Large Space + Good Layout > Large Space + Poor Layout > Small Space + Good Layout > Small Space + Poor Layout. The main points of Guolian Minsheng Securities are as follows: January car market performance was flat, new energy brands outperformed the industry CPCA preliminary calculation estimates that the total retail market for narrow passenger cars in January is about 1.8 million units, down 20.4% month-on-month but slightly increasing year-on-year, with new energy retail estimated to reach 800,000 units, a penetration rate of 44.4%. In January, the combined deliveries of 5 sample new energy car companies (excluding Xiaomi and Aiways) reached 130,772 units, up 17.5% year-on-year, but down 28.0% month-on-month, outperforming the industry average. January is a slow sales season with overall performance being flat due to two main factors: on the policy side, although the national subsidy is expected to continue, local governments had not officially started subsidizing in early January; on the supply side, there were few new car launches. It is expected that after the gradual opening of subsidies by various local governments and the continuous launch of new cars before the car expos after the Spring Festival, the bank believes that car demand is expected to stabilize and rebound after the Spring Festival. New energy brands have stable sales, with Leapmotor maintaining the lead Leapmotor: According to the company, they delivered 32,059 units in January, up 27.4% year-on-year, with the overall sales growth benefiting from the strong products and cost-effectiveness of C10 and B01 under 200,000 yuan. In December, C10 delivered nearly 10,000 units, accounting for 26.6% of the company's deliveries that month; B01 delivered 7,800 units, representing 20.9%. In terms of new cars, the flagship SUV D19, targeting the high-end market above 300,000 yuan, is planned to be launched in April 2026, and the MPV D99 will also be launched within 2026. In addition, in January 2026, the D series new models completed winter tests in the cold Yakutsk, where the D19 successfully achieved the world's first ice and snow extreme scenario test. The bank believes that Leapmotor has a clear cost-effectiveness advantage in the domestic market, and with the endorsement of the Stellantis brand and channel advantage in overseas markets, it is expected to quickly increase the brand's international recognition and enter the second growth cycle. Xpeng: According to the company, they delivered 27,182 units in January, a 96.1% year-on-year increase; among which the LeiDao delivered 3,481 units and the Firefly delivered 2,807 units. In December, the ES8 delivered 22,000 units, accounting for 46.3% of the company's deliveries that month; the ET5T delivered 3,900 units, representing 8.1%; the LeiDao L90 delivered 4,100 units, representing 8.6%, and the LeiDao L60 delivered 5,000 units, representing 10.5%. In terms of new cars, on February 1st, 2026, after 134 days, the all-new ES8 completed the delivery of its 60,000th unit. In terms of products, at the end of January, the NWM global model from Xpeng has officially launched a new version, and the initial batch will be delivering for over 460,000 Banyan car models. The new version focuses on enhancing the basic driving capabilities of full-area navigation assistance, while adding urban navigation and battery swap functions, further enhancing the user driving experience. Li Auto: According to the company, they delivered 27,668 units in January, with the L6 delivering 12,700 units, accounting for 28.6% of the company's deliveries that month, and the i6 delivering 16,000 units, accounting for 36.1%. In terms of products, in January, Li Auto pushed out the OTA 8.2 version system update to users, adding 40 new functions and 25 experience optimizations, fully upgrading the assisted driving, intelligent space, and intelligent electrification experiences. In terms of online and offline services and charging stations, as of January 31, 2026, Li Auto has 547 nationwide retail centers, covering 159 cities; 547 maintenance and authorized service centers, covering 221 cities. Li Auto has already put into use 3,966 Ideal Power Stations across the country, with a total of 21,945 charging piles. The bank believes that the company's L series sales remain stable, with the overseas market gradually expanding, and overall sales are expected to return to a high-growth trend. Zeekr: According to the company, they delivered 23,852 units in January, a 99.7% year-on-year increase. In terms of products, the second model carrying the grandiose super electric-hybrid architecture - Zeekr 8X model is expected to be launched in the first half of this year. Xiaomi: According to the company, they delivered over 39,000 units in January. On January 29th, the first Chinese car from Xiaomi, the SU7 Gran Turismo7, was officially launched online; the new generation SU7 will be launched in April this year, with a pre-sale price of 229,900 yuan for the Standard version, 259,900 yuan for the Pro version, and 309,900 yuan for the Max version, with upgraded passive safety and battery safety features. In terms of store layout, 9 new stores were added in January, with a total of 484 stores in 139 cities nationwide; 6 new stores are planned for February, covering two cities, Jiangmen and Zhoukou in Shenzhen New Land Tool Planning & Architectural Design; as of January 31st, there are already 270 service outlets nationwide, covering 159 cities. Intelligent driving technology is accelerating, opening the era of equal rights for intelligent driving Car manufacturers represented by Xpeng and Huawei have been continuously iterating and promoting intelligent driving since 2025; all manufacturers are actively promoting the popularization and promotion of intelligent driving, and the era of standard intelligent driving has arrived. Looking ahead to 2026, advances in intelligent driving technology are expected to lower the hardware threshold for intelligent driving, enabling its application in the mainstream market below 200,000 yuan. Companies like Xpeng and BYD Company Limited are expected to gain further differentiated advantages against joint venture brands in 2026 through affordable intelligent driving, and increase their market share.