New Energy Vehicles Dominate China's Top 10 Best-Selling Models in April, Leaving Only One ICE Vehicle—All Joint-Venture Brands Fall Off the List

In April 2024, nine out of the top ten best-selling passenger car models in China were new energy vehicles (NEVs), with only Geely’s Binyue—a gasoline-powered model—ranking eighth. This marks a sharp decline in the share of fuel-powered vehicles compared to early this year, when seven of the top ten sellers were still internal combustion engine (ICE) models. Meanwhile, all joint-venture brand models dropped out of the top ten sales rankings during the same period, with formerly dominant models like the Lavida and Corolla no longer appearing near the top. The shrinking market share of ICE vehicles is linked to rising ownership costs and the improved cost-performance ratio of NEVs. Chinese domestic brands have gained an edge in both affordability and intelligent driving experiences by continuously lowering NEV prices and accelerating core technology upgrades. In contrast, joint-venture brands have struggled with delayed market assessments and sluggish strategic responses in their electrification transitions, weakening the competitiveness of their ICE models and eroding their brand premium. Declining sales have rippled through to dealerships: in April, the overall dealer inventory coefficient reached 1.89, surpassing the warning threshold of 1.5. The inventory coefficient for joint-venture brands stood even higher at 2.24. High inventory levels have triggered widespread price inversions—where wholesale prices exceed retail prices—with more than half of all models experiencing inversions exceeding 15%. Dealerships primarily reliant on ICE vehicle sales now face mounting pressures from inventory overhang, price inversions, and shrinking demand for after-sales services.