China’s November Fuel Car Retail Sales Fall 22% Year on Year

The B-segment luxury fuel SUV market fell 22.6% year-over-year but rose 14.6% month-over-month, outperforming the mainstream fuel SUV market.

In November 2025, as the auto market typically enters its traditional peak season for a year-end sales surge, it unexpectedly experienced the most significant cooling-off in nearly three years. The performance of the traditional fuel vehicle market is particularly noteworthy.

Data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows that retail sales of conventional fuel passenger vehicles in November reached 900,000 units, representing a year-on-year decrease of 22% and a month-on-month decline of 7%. Even the traditional sales peak season failed to reverse the downturn.

Amid the overall sluggishness, the luxury fuel vehicle market showed a diverging trend. Although the B-segment luxury SUV market saw a year-on-year decline of 22.6%, it achieved a month-on-month growth of 14.6%, indicating a better monthly performance trend compared to the mainstream B-segment fuel SUV market.

Within this segment, the German trio—Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz (often referred to as BBA)—remain the foundational players. However, all three models experienced significant year-on-year sales declines: the Audi Q5 fell by 22%, the Mercedes-Benz GLC dropped by 23%, and the BMW X3 declined by 29%. With each decline exceeding 20%, their sales volume has contracted noticeably compared to the same period last year.

This phenomenon of a “weak peak season” reflects a dual squeeze on the market. On one hand, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles has climbed to 59.3%, continuously eroding the market share of fuel vehicles. On the other hand, high base effects from previous policy-driven demand and consumer wait-and-see sentiment have led to subdued purchasing activity.

More critically, cumulative retail sales of fuel passenger vehicles from January to November amounted to only 10.01 million units, marking a 6% year-on-year decrease.

Amid the crisis, opportunities also exist. While brands like the Volvo XC60 and Lincoln Nautilus also faced declines of 28% to 29%, the all-new Cadillac XT5 bucked the trend with a 7% year-on-year increase, gaining 2.9 percentage points in market share.

This also highlights potential opportunities within this segment against the backdrop of an overall contracting market. In today’s rapidly changing market environment, there is a greater need to address consumers’ genuine pain points regarding value.