China NEV Monthly Sales (CPCA) 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
673,536
744,052
596,000
February
381,626
686,000
464,000
March
718,498
991,000
848,000
April
675,484
905,000
849,000
May
796,811
1,021,000
950,000
June
856,354
1,111,000
1,007,000
July
881,021
987,000
951,000
August
1,024,848
1,101,000
1,005,000
September
1,122,467
1,296,000
October
1,195,018
1,282,000
November
1,266,990
1,321,000
December
1,302,599
1,337,000
China passenger NEV retail sales — CPCA
2024
2025
2026
China’s NEV retail sales fell 10.1% year-on-year to 1.005 million in August, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline.
NEV exports surged 154.7% year-on-year, accounting for 58.4% of total passenger car exports.
China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales fell about 10% year-on-year in August, but a near-halving of gasoline car sales pushed NEV penetration to a record high.
NEV retail sales totaled 1.005 million in August, down 10.1% year-on-year but up 5.7% from July, according to data released Tuesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
This marked the eighth consecutive month of year-on-year declines. Retail sales in the first 8 months totaled 6.674 million, down 12.1% from a year earlier.
The August figure was below the 1.069 million previously reported by the CPCA based on preliminary data.
Still, NEVs continued to gain market share. Their retail penetration rate reached a record 65.2% in August, up 9.9 percentage points year-on-year and 0.1 percentage points from July.
China Passenger NEV Penetration at Retail 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
32.8%
41.5%
38.6%
February
35.8%
49.5%
44.9%
March
41.6%
51.1%
51.5%
April
43.7%
51.5%
61.4%
May
47%
52.9%
62.9%
June
48.4%
53.3%
62.8%
July
51.1%
54%
65.1%
August
53.9%
55.2%
65.2%
September
53.3%
57.8%
October
52.9%
57.2%
November
52.3%
59.3%
December
49.4%
59.1%
China passenger NEV penetration at retail
2024
2025
2026
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were the only powertrain category to post year-on-year growth. BEV retail sales totaled 698,000 in August, up 0.8% from a year earlier and 7.9% from July.
China Passenger BEV Retail Sales 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
379,000
419,000
348,000
February
219,963
427,000
278,000
March
428,000
646,000
568,000
April
405,198
559,000
579,000
May
495,825
607,000
637,000
June
492,945
661,000
685,000
July
487,000
607,000
647,000
August
580,718
686,000
698,000
September
643,000
826,000
October
673,000
812,000
November
758,000
827,000
December
762,000
782,000
China passenger BEV retail sales
2024
2025
2026
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) retail sales fell 29.6% year-on-year to 226,000, though they rose 3.1% from July.
China PHEV Monthly Sales 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
209,000
250,000
172,000
February
109,000
199,000
134,000
March
215,000
268,000
204,000
April
207,000
260,000
192,000
May
225,000
298,000
228,000
June
253,000
334,000
241,000
July
279,000
278,000
219,000
August
338,000
314,000
226,000
September
361,000
360,000
October
405,000
361,000
November
391,000
378,000
December
419,000
410,000
China PHEV monthly sales
2024
2025
2026
Extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) retail sales dropped 22.2% year-on-year to 81,000, down 4.6% from July.
China EREV Monthly Sales 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
85,000
75,000
76,000
February
53,000
60,000
52,000
March
74,000
77,000
76,000
April
65,000
86,000
79,000
May
77,000
116,000
85,000
June
107,000
116,000
82,000
July
115,000
102,000
85,000
August
106,000
100,000
81,000
September
118,000
109,000
October
117,000
109,000
November
121,000
116,000
December
122,000
145,000
China EREV monthly sales
2024
2025
2026
China’s total passenger car retail sales reached 1.541 million in August, down 23.6% year-on-year but up 5.5% from July. Year-to-date sales totaled 11.716 million, down 20.8%.
China Passenger Car Retail Sales 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
2,040,605
1,793,611
1,544,000
February
1,100,269
1,383,965
1,034,000
March
1,695,722
1,940,000
1,648,000
April
1,533,151
1,755,000
1,384,000
May
1,705,125
1,932,000
1,510,000
June
1,764,300
2,084,000
1,602,000
July
1,718,525
1,826,000
1,461,000
August
1,907,066
1,995,000
1,541,000
September
2,108,144
2,241,000
October
2,260,638
2,242,000
November
2,421,718
2,225,000
December
2,634,165
2,261,000
China passenger car retail sales
2024
2025
2026
Exports continued to support the industry’s factory output. China’s passenger car exports totaled 888,000 in August, up 77.8% year-on-year.
NEV exports surged 154.7% year-on-year to 518,000, though they fell 5.0% from July. They accounted for 58.4% of passenger car exports, up 18 percentage points from a year earlier.
NEV wholesale sales reached 1.51 million in August, up 16.4% year-on-year and 3.9% from July. NEVs accounted for 64.2% of passenger car wholesale sales, up 12 percentage points from a year earlier.
China NEV Monthly Wholesale Sales (CPCA) 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
689,000
889,000
864,000
February
446,870
830,000
723,000
March
815,180
1,128,000
1,144,000
April
788,443
1,133,000
1,225,000
May
897,347
1,216,000
1,352,000
June
982,593
1,241,000
1,481,000
July
945,000
1,181,000
1,446,000
August
1,050,027
1,282,000
1,510,000
September
1,231,000
1,500,000
October
1,369,000
1,621,000
November
1,438,000
1,706,000
December
1,512,000
1,563,000
China passenger NEV wholesale sales — CPCA
2024
2025
2026
BYD (HKEX: 1211) maintained a commanding lead in August, with domestic NEV retail sales of 233,943.
Geely Auto (HKEX: 0175) and Leapmotor (HKEX: 9863) ranked second and third in the NEV retail market, with sales of 110,560 and 84,874, respectively.
They were followed by Changan Automobile with 57,874, SAIC-GM-Wuling with 53,087 and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) with 50,047.
Automakers with NEV retail sales of over 20,000 units in China in August 2026
0
50K
100K
150K
200K
250K
300K
Automakers with NEV retail sales of over 20,000 units in China in August 2026
Automaker
NEV Retail Sales
BYD
233,943
Geely
110,560
Leapmotor
84,874
Changan
57,874
SAIC-GM-Wuling
53,087
Tesla China
50,047
Chery
46,391
Huawei HIMA
42,101
Li Auto
37,679
Nio
35,655
GWM
33,531
Xpeng
30,982
Xiaomi Auto
30,153
SAIC Passenger Vehicle
27,663
GAC Aion
24,510
Chery (HKEX: 9973) sold 46,391, while Huawei-backed HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) recorded 42,101, Li Auto (Nasdaq: LI) 37,679 and Nio (NYSE: NIO) 35,655.
Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) posted retail sales of 30,982, while Xiaomi (HKEX: 1810) sold 30,153.
China’s emerging automakers held a 26.0% share of the NEV retail market in August, up 5.5 percentage points year-on-year, driven mainly by Leapmotor and Nio, the CPCA said.
The auto market was beginning to recover from a trough in August, the CPCA said. The implementation of policies to support consumption and a more favorable comparison base should help build momentum for the traditional peak season in September and October.
Leapmotor and Zeekr continued to set records, while Xpeng and Li Auto returned to sequential growth.
($1 = 6.7889 yuan)