Both tech giants Xiaomi and Huawei led JD Power’s 2026 China New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Product Appeal Index, while Tesla failed to win a single segment in the annual study, which measures “owners’ emotional attachment to and level of excitement” with their new vehicles.
The US-listed Chinese carmaker XPeng led the Compact BEV Sedan and the Midsize BEV Sedan categories with its Mona M03 and P7+, respectively.
The 2026 study was based on responses from 21,512 NEV owners who purchased their vehicle between May and December 2025, and included 137 models from 49 different brands.
The study, known as NEV-APEAL, scores vehicles on a 1,000-point scale across 45 attributes covering exterior design, driving feel, infotainment, safety, charging experience, and other ownership factors, based on responses from owners within their first two to six months of ownership.
Xiaomi‘s SU7 sedan scored 843 points to win the large BEV sedan segment, narrowly beating the 001 of Geely’s premium brand Zeekr at 841 against a segment average of 838.
The Xiaomi YU7 SUV matched that 843 score to take the large BEV SUV category, ahead of Changan’s Avatr 07 BEV at 839, SAIC’s IM Motors LS6 BEV at 837, and Tesla‘s Model Y L at 837.
The three-row SUV — launched last year for the Chinese market and recently debuted in Thailand and the Philippines — scored at the segment average but behind three domestic competitors.
Huawei’s AITO
Huawei-backed brand AITO posted the highest APEAL score of any model across all segments.
The AITO M9 extended-range SUV scored 847 points to win the luxury plug-in hybrid SUV category, while the AITO M7 took the midsize extended-range SUV segment with 833.
Geely‘s Galaxy M9 PHEV ranked second-highest overall at 845, winning the midsize plug-in hybrid SUV category.
WEY, Great Wall Motor’s premium brand, won the plug-in hybrid MPV segment with its Gaoshan model at 837.
“The BEV MPV segment criteria for awards were not met, therefore no awards are given this year,” JD Power said.
Chinese Brands Dominate
No international automaker won any segment as all 15 category awards went to Chinese brands, with Xiaomi, AITO, XPeng, and Geely‘s sub-brands collecting the most wins.
XPeng took two categories — the compact BEV sedan segment with its M03 at 842 and the midsize BEV sedan segment with its P7+ at 840.
Nio won the luxury BEV category with its best selling model — the third generation ES8 SUV — at 834.
Other segment winners included Leapmotor‘s T03 in the small BEV category at 830, GAC Aion’s Aion V in compact BEV SUVs at 837, Chery‘s iCAR V23 in midsize BEV SUVs at 839, and BYD‘s Seal 06 PHEV in the mainstream plug-in hybrid sedan segment at 835.
The compact PHEV and extended-range SUV segment produced a tie between Haval’s Xiaolong PHEV and Lynk & Co’s 08 PHEV, both at 838.
Nio on Product Definition
Nio‘s Assistant VP of Product Experience Sun Ning spoke at the forum alongside the awards presentation.
According to JD Power, Sun said Nio‘s product definition process spans the entire vehicle lifecycle rather than being confined to the R&D phase, with product line leaders held accountable for commercial performance from development through end of life.
Sun said the people defining products should ideally be target users themselves.
He told the forum he had personally conducted in-depth interviews with hundreds of Nio owners, visiting their real-life environments to identify core needs.
JD Power noted that Sun’s approach reflected a broader industry shift toward grounding product decisions in direct user contact rather than abstract market research.
Notable Absences
Li Auto, one of China’s largest extended-range EV makers, did not win any category despite competing directly in segments dominated by AITO.
BYD, the world’s largest EV maker by volume, claimed only one segment win.
Tesla‘s absence from the winners’ podium comes as the brand faces mounting pressure in China.
Registrations fell 27.8% in 2025 across Europe, and the company has been losing ground in China to domestic rivals offering newer models with more advanced smart cockpit and autonomous driving features at competitive prices.
The NEV-APEAL study has been published annually since 2021.
The 2025 edition, released in May last year, recorded an industry average of 806 points — the highest since the study’s inception.
