JUST a third of automakers in China met their annual sales goal in 2023 as competition in the world’s largest car market heats up. Only four of the 13 brands that have disclosed annual sales figures accomplished their targets, led by electric vehicle maker Li Auto Inc., which delivered 376,030 vehicles in 2023, exceeding its original goal of 300,000 by 25%. BYD Co. met its ambitious 3 million target, selling 3.01 million cars in 2023, in the process overtaking Tesla Inc. as the world’s top-selling EV maker. The Shenzhen-based company’s rise to dominance with a broad lineup across most price points is squeezing some smaller players as it gobbles up a bigger share of the domestic market. Geely Automobile Holdings Group Ltd. is so far the only traditional established automaker to meet its annual target, though its EV brand Zeekr delivered only 85% of its sales goal. Among the underperformers, Nio Inc., Xpeng Inc. and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. all fell short of their targets for a second straight year, prompting them to reshuffle executive teams, and, in Nio’s case, trim its workforce. The misses came even as total sales of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose 38% last year to 8.88 million units, according to preliminary data released by China’s Passenger Car Association (PCA) on Wednesday. (SD-Agencies) | 