Passenger vehicle inventory nationwide drops to 3.14 million units by end-August 2026

At the end of August 2026, nationwide passenger vehicle industry inventory stood at 3.14 million units, down 80,000 units from the previous month and down 20,000 units compared to August 2025. Based on end-of-August inventory levels and a comprehensive forecast of domestic retail sales over the next three months, current inventory is sufficient to support 56 days of future sales. The corresponding figures for the same period in 2023, 2024, and 2025 were 42 days, 52 days, and 58 days, respectively. In terms of inventory structure, manufacturer-held inventory accounted for 27.1% at the end of August. Total inventory held by companies producing only new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 850,000 units, up 20,000 units month-over-month, an increase of 70,000 units from 780,000 units in November 2025, but still below the 880,000 units recorded in April 2025. Production and sales data show that national passenger vehicle retail sales in August totaled 1.541 million units, down 23% year-over-year but up 5.5% month-over-month. Cumulative retail sales from January to August reached 11.71 million units, down 20.7% year-over-year. In August, nationwide wholesale volume by passenger vehicle manufacturers was 2.353 million units, down 5.3% year-over-year but up 4.5% month-over-month. Passenger vehicle production totaled 2.35 million units, down 4% year-over-year and up 5.4% month-over-month. Regarding exports, passenger vehicle exports in August amounted to 888,000 units, up 77.8% year-over-year but down 4.2% month-over-month, accounting for 38% of total manufacturer sales. NEVs represented 58.4% of total exports, an increase of 18 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) forecasting team reported an optimism index of 12% for the August market. The post-month satisfaction rating for August, released in early September, stood at 17%, while the optimism index for the September market was assessed at 38%.