Q1 Domestic Passenger Car Sales Drop 23.4% YoY; SAIC Tops, Geely Edges Out BYD, Exports Drive Growth

In the first quarter of 2026, China produced and sold 7.039 million and 7.048 million vehicles, respectively, representing year-on-year declines of 6.9% and 5.6%. Domestic vehicle sales totaled 4.823 million units, down 20.3% year-on-year; domestic passenger vehicle sales reached 4.013 million units, a 23.4% year-on-year drop. Domestic new energy vehicle (NEV) sales amounted to 2.006 million units, down 23.8% year-on-year, including 1.822 million NEV passenger cars, which fell by 26.7% year-on-year. In March alone, vehicle production and sales reached 2.917 million and 2.899 million units, respectively, up 74.4% and 60.6% month-on-month. Domestic vehicle sales in March totaled 2.024 million units, an increase of 78.6% compared to February. On the export front, China exported 2.226 million vehicles in Q1, up 56.7% year-on-year. Passenger vehicle exports totaled 1.921 million units, rising 63% year-on-year. NEV exports surged 120% year-on-year to 954,000 units, of which 935,000 were NEV passenger cars. Exports of conventional fuel-powered vehicles reached 1.271 million units, up 29.9% year-on-year. Chery exported over 390,000 vehicles in Q1, while BYD exported 320,000 units. In terms of automaker sales, SAIC Motor led the market with cumulative wholesale deliveries of 973,000 units in Q1, up 3% year-on-year. Geely Auto sold 709,358 vehicles, slightly ahead of BYD’s 700,463 units—a difference of 8,895 units. Changan Automobile reported cumulative sales of 558,000 units, while Chery Group sold 602,000 units, including 161,000 NEVs. In March, BYD’s sales rebounded above 300,000 units, Geely sold 233,000 units, and Changan exceeded 260,000 units—up 78% month-on-month. Chinese-branded vehicles accounted for 61.8% of domestic retail market share in March, down 0.8 percentage points year-on-year. Industry analysts noted that the Q1 sales decline was influenced by factors including the later timing of the Chinese New Year holiday, the impending expiration of the NEV purchase tax exemption policy (scheduled to end in late 2025), and a reduced number of new model launches. The year 2026 is widely seen as the starting phase of policy support tapering for NEVs, with the market currently undergoing an adjustment period.