A Shangjie Z7 on display at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026. Credit: CnEVPost
- China’s passenger NEV market showed a significant recovery in May, driven by elevated global oil prices and robust export demand.
- Major automakers, including BYD and Tesla China, recorded a strong sales rebound in May.
China’s wholesale sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) extended their growth momentum last month, signaling that the industry is accelerating its recovery from the traditional slow sales season at the start of the year.
Wholesale shipments of passenger NEVs are estimated at 1.36 million units in May, representing a 12% year-on-year increase and an 11% month-on-month rise, according to data released Tuesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The robust market performance was fueled by a combination of macroeconomic and industry-specific factors, notably the surge in oil prices stemming from geopolitical conflicts.
Disruptions to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz have kept global crude prices elevated, triggering two rounds of hikes in China’s domestic retail fuel prices. The significant increase in operating costs for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles has severely suppressed consumer demand for traditional gasoline cars, the CPCA said.
China NEV Monthly Wholesale Sales (CPCA) 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
689,000
889,000
864,000
February
446,870
830,000
723,000
March
815,180
1,128,000
1,144,000
April
788,443
1,133,000
1,225,000
May
897,347
1,216,000
1,360,000
June
982,593
1,241,000
July
945,000
1,181,000
August
1,050,027
1,282,000
September
1,231,000
1,500,000
October
1,369,000
1,621,000
November
1,438,000
1,706,000
December
1,512,000
1,563,000
China passenger NEV wholesale sales — CPCA
2024
2025
2026
*May 2026 figure is CPCA estimate
Source: CPCA
© CnEVPost
Exorbitant fuel prices have accelerated the shift in domestic consumer demand from traditional gasoline cars to NEVs. Additionally, an ample number of working days in May provided a solid foundation for automakers to unleash their production capacity, according to the CPCA.
Elevated global oil prices have also sparked a surge in NEV demand in overseas markets. Chinese domestic brands have demonstrated formidable competitiveness abroad, leveraging their technological advantages in energy efficiency and outstanding cost performance.
The steady expansion of export volumes has further bolstered China’s domestic NEV production and sales figures. The rapid iteration of electrification technologies by major automakers and the launch of new models have also stimulated market demand, the CPCA noted.
In the NEV sector, BYD (HKEX: 1211) maintained its absolute leadership among all manufacturers, wholesaling 376,990 passenger NEVs in May.
Geely Auto (HKEX: 0175) ranked second in the NEV market with sales of 131,037 units in May. Its total vehicle sales for the month reached 237,637 units.
Chery (HKEX: 9973) secured the third spot with wholesale NEV sales of 92,905 units in May.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) China ranked fourth, with wholesale shipments reaching 85,982 vehicles in May, the highest this year.
EV startups also demonstrated robust market performance in May. Leapmotor (HKEX: 9863) delivered 81,569 new vehicles during the month, setting yet another monthly delivery record.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) delivered 37,705 vehicles in May, hitting a new high for the year.
The CPCA noted in its report that manufacturers with wholesale NEV sales exceeding 10,000 units in April accounted for 93% of the total volume in May. These top-tier companies saw their estimated sales reach 1.26 million units last month.
Based on this preliminary aggregated data structure, the CPCA projected national passenger NEV wholesale sales at 1.36 million units for May.
Based on the data released so far, most automakers saw a rebound in sales in May, gradually emerging from the off-season that began at the start of the year.
China passenger NEV wholesale sales (May 2026)
China passenger NEV wholesale sales (May 2026)
Rank
Automaker
NEV Wholesale Sales
1
BYD
376,990
2
Geely
131,037
3
Chery
92,905
4
Tesla China
85,982
5
Leapmotor
81,569
6
Changan
73,675
7
SAIC-GM-Wuling
69,103
8
SAIC Passenger Vehicle
46,643
9
Dongfeng
40,000
10
Nio
37,705
11
GAC Aion
34,208
12
Li Auto
33,350
13
Xpeng
32,158
14
Great Wall Motor
30,426
15
Seres
30,187
16
Xiaomi EV
30,000
17
Arcfox
17,722
18
SAIC-GM
13,167
19
Dongfeng Nissan
11,139
20
GAC Toyota
10,563
21
SAIC-Volkswagen
9,619
22
FAW Bestune
8,809
23
IM Motors
7,785
24
FAW Hongqi
6,952
25
GAC Trumpchi
6,860
26
Spotlight
4,798
27
Changan Mazda
3,981
28
Seres Hubei
3,453
29
BAIC
2,868
30
Beijing Automobile Works
2,669
31
FAW Toyota
2,574
32
BMW Brilliance
2,445
33
JMC New Energy
1,698
34
Yueda Kia
1,582
35
SAIC Maxus
1,517
36
FAW-Volkswagen
1,419
37
JAC
1,352
38
Livan Auto
842
39
Jimai New Energy
830
40
Beijing Hyundai
739
41
Others
8,679
