China NEV sales are still falling, even in what is traditionally the strongest season of the year. According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), retail sales of passenger new energy vehicles reached 753,000 units between October 1 and 25, down 13% year-on-year and 1% from the same period in September.
Key numbers
| Metric | Oct 1–25, 2026 | Change y/y |
|---|---|---|
| NEV retail sales | 753,000 | -13% |
| NEV wholesale | 1,008,000 | +3% |
| All passenger car retail | 1,145,000 | -26% |
| NEV retail share | 65.7% | — |
| NEV retail, year to date | 8.51 million | -13% |
Electric cars hold up better
The broader passenger car market is in much worse shape, with retail sales down 26%. As a result, plug-in hybrids and electric cars now make up 65.7% of all retail sales, just below September’s record of 67.0%.
Wholesale numbers tell a different story: carmakers shipped just over one million NEVs to dealers and export markets, up 3% year-on-year. Year-to-date NEV wholesale reached 12.46 million, up 9%, helped strongly by exports.
If October does not return to growth, it will be the tenth straight month of falling NEV retail sales in China.
What to expect
The CPCA forecasts full-month NEV retail sales of about 1.07 million, down 16.5% year-on-year, and total car retail sales of about 1.6 million, down 28.9%. The association says the National Day holiday brought only a short-lived boost, and weak income expectations keep buyers waiting.
For Chinese brands, this means even more pressure to cut prices at home and push exports, which explains the wave of new cheaper models and overseas factories we see this autumn.
