[Digital Today reporter Choi Jae-won] Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng recorded its biggest-ever quarterly vehicle deliveries in the third quarter this year.

On Oct. 1 (local time), electric vehicle outlet Cleantechnica reported that Xpeng delivered 118,390 vehicles in the third quarter. That was up 15 percent from the previous quarter and about 2 percent from a year earlier.

September deliveries came to 41,256 units, up 5.5 percent from the previous month’s 39,107. That was down 0.8 percent from the 41,581 recorded in September last year, but it was close to the company’s all-time monthly high. Deliveries rose for a third straight month after 38,027 in July and 39,107 in August, setting a quarterly record.

Cumulative deliveries for January to September totaled 284,367 vehicles, down 9.2 percent from a year earlier. The impact of weak sales early in the year has lingered, while the recovery in the second half has become clear.

Xpeng is also speeding up the expansion of its charging infrastructure. As of the end of September, Xpeng’s self-operated charging network in China covered more than 430 cities and more than 4,000 charging stations. Of those, more than 3,510 were ultra-fast charging stations, with more than 22,200 chargers in total. On Sept. 15, it also opened its first megawatt-class ultra-fast 'X-Energy' charging station in Hong Kong.

It also highlighted environmental effects. Xpeng estimated that the electric vehicles it delivered from January to September this year would cut lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by more than 4.14 million tons compared with internal combustion engine vehicles. That is equivalent to the amount of carbon absorbed over 10 years by about 68.53 million young trees.