China’s October NEV Exports Jump 144.7% as Passenger Car Retail Sales Fall 27.1%

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) has released its analysis of China’s passenger car market for October 2026.

The data point to a weak traditional peak season, with October’s “Silver October” sales period falling short of expectations. As domestic demand remains under pressure, strong exports have become a key source of support for automakers. NEV penetration also continued to reach new highs.

Domestic retail sales remain under pressure as NEV penetration hits 67.5%

China’s passenger car retail sales totaled 1.643 million units in October, down 27.1% year on year but up 1.5% month on month.

Cumulative retail sales from January to October reached 14.978 million units, down 22.3% year on year.

NEV passenger cars held up relatively well. Retail sales reached 1.109 million units in October, down 13.7% year on year but up 2.3% month on month. Cumulative sales for the first 10 months totaled 8.869 million units, down 12.9% year on year.

NEVs accounted for 67.5% of passenger car retail sales in October, up 10.5 percentage points from a year earlier and a record high.

By comparison, conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger car retail sales fell to 530K units, down 45% year on year and 0.1% month on month. Conventional hybrid vehicles bucked the trend, posting 28% year-on-year growth.

By brand segment, NEV penetration reached 84.8% among domestic brands. The figure stood at 19.4% for premium brands and 19.7% for mainstream joint-venture brands.

The five largest NEV passenger car sellers by retail volume in October were BYD with 250.3K units, Geely with 131.7K, Leapmotor with 83.5K, Changan with 68.9K and SAIC-GM-Wuling with 67.6K.

Exports provide a key source of support, with NEVs accounting for more than 60%

Exports have become an increasingly important pillar of automakers’ sales amid weak domestic demand.

Passenger car exports, including complete vehicles and completely knocked-down (CKD) kits, reached 928K units in October, up 68.5% year on year and 1.0% month on month. Exports accounted for 35% of passenger car manufacturers’ total sales.

NEV passenger car exports reached 582K units, surging 144.7% year on year and rising 3.9% month on month. They represented 62.8% of total passenger car exports, up 20 percentage points from a year earlier.

By powertrain, BEVs accounted for 61.7% of NEV exports, followed by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) at 33.7% and extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) at 4.6%.

A00- and A0-segment models made up 56.4% of BEV exports, highlighting the strong presence of affordable mass-market vehicles in China’s electric car exports.

The five largest NEV exporters in October were BYD with 165.1K units, Chery with 83.8K, Geely with 80.1K, Tesla China with 59K and SAIC Passenger Vehicle with 42K.

Production and wholesale sales remain under pressure as industry destocking continues

China produced 2.654 million passenger cars in October, down 10.1% year on year but up 2.4% month on month.

NEV passenger car production reached 1.835 million units, up 10.9% year on year and 10.7% month on month.

At the wholesale level, passenger car manufacturers sold 2.633 million units, down 10.2% year on year but up 3.3% month on month. The export surge lifted the year-on-year growth rate of wholesale sales 16.9 percentage points above that of retail sales.

NEV passenger car wholesale sales reached 1.772 million units, up 9.8% year on year and 6.2% month on month. NEVs accounted for 67.3% of total passenger car wholesale sales.

By powertrain, BEVs made up 67.3% of NEV wholesale sales, followed by PHEVs at 24.1% and EREVs at 8.6%.

The A00 segment of the BEV market remained under particular pressure. Wholesale sales of A00-segment electric cars totaled 101K units in October, down 41% year on year. Their share of the BEV market fell to 8%.

The five largest NEV manufacturers by wholesale sales in October were BYD with 482.6K units, Geely with 211.2K, Chery with 133.8K, Leapmotor with 103K and Changan with 99.4K.

Inventory data showed that passenger car manufacturers’ wholesale sales were 21K units below production in October. Domestic wholesale sales, however, exceeded domestic retail sales by 63K units.

The industry continued to draw down inventory over the first 10 months of 2026, with overall passenger car inventory falling by approximately 600K units.