China’s Aug 2026 NEV retail ranking
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China’s Aug 2026 NEV retail ranking
Ranking
Automaker
NEV Sales
Market Share
1
BYD
233,943
23.3%
2
Geely
110,560
11.0%
3
Leapmotor
84,874
8.4%
4
Changan
57,874
5.8%
5
SAIC-GM-Wuling
53,087
5.3%
6
Tesla China
50,047
5.0%
7
Chery
46,391
4.6%
8
HIMA
42,101
4.2%
9
Li Auto
37,679
3.7%
10
Nio
35,655
3.5%
- Tesla returned to sixth place with a 5.0% share, while Leapmotor retained third place and posted the fastest year-on-year growth among the top 10.
- BYD’s NEV retail share rose to 21.7% for January-August, and it maintained its lead in the broader passenger car market, including gasoline-powered vehicles.
BYD (HKEX: 1211) continued to lead China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market in August with a 23.3% share, while Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) returned to sixth place after falling out of the top 10 in July.
BYD’s retail sales of passenger NEVs in China totaled 233,943 units in August, down 24.6% year-on-year but up 4.7% from July, according to rankings released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Wednesday.
Its market share was slightly below July’s 23.5%, but remained more than double that of second-ranked Geely Auto (HKEX: 0175).
Geely came in second with 110,560 units, down 17.7% year-on-year but up 4.8% month-on-month. Its share stood at 11.0%, slightly below July’s 11.1%.
Leapmotor (HKEX: 9863) retained third place with 84,874 units, up 65.9% year-on-year and 1.4% month-on-month, for an 8.4% share.
It posted the fastest year-on-year growth among the top 10, though its market share slipped from 8.8% in July.
Changan Automobile (SZSE: 000625) ranked fourth with 57,874 units, down 20.0% year-on-year and 3.4% month-on-month, for a 5.8% share.
SAIC-GM-Wuling placed fifth with 53,087 units, down 17.6% year-on-year but up 8.4% month-on-month, for a 5.3% share.
Tesla’s China retail sales were 50,047 units in August, up 83.7% from July, the largest sequential increase among the top 10.
Its market share stood at 5.0%, but sales were still down 12.4% year-on-year, indicating that the monthly rebound had yet to reverse the annual decline.
Chery (HKEX: 9973) retained seventh place with 46,391 units, up 13.6% year-on-year and 18.7% month-on-month, for a 4.6% share.
Huawei-backed HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) slipped to eighth from sixth in July. Its retail sales totaled 42,101 units, down 5.5% year-on-year and 7.3% month-on-month, for a 4.2% share.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) returned to the top 10 in ninth place with 37,679 units, up 32.1% year-on-year and 23.7% month-on-month, for a 3.7% share.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) ranked tenth with 35,655 units, down 2 places from July. Its retail sales rose 14.7% year-on-year but fell 0.5% month-on-month, giving it a 3.5% share.
SAIC Passenger Vehicle and Xiaomi Auto, the car unit of Xiaomi (HKEX: 1810), dropped out of August’s top 10 after ranking ninth and tenth, respectively, in July.
For January-August, BYD led the NEV market with retail sales of 1,448,283 units, despite a 34.0% year-on-year decline. Its cumulative share rose to 21.7% from 21.4% for January-July.
China’s Jan-Aug 2026 NEV retail ranking
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China’s Jan-Aug 2026 NEV retail ranking
Ranking
Automaker
NEV Sales
Market Share
1
BYD
1,448,283
21.7%
2
Geely
794,433
11.9%
3
Changan
439,448
6.6%
4
Leapmotor
428,765
6.4%
5
HIMA
329,739
4.9%
6
Tesla China
316,251
4.7%
7
SAIC-GM-Wuling
315,531
4.7%
8
Nio
262,145
3.9%
9
Li Auto
261,619
3.9%
10
Xiaomi Auto
246,475
3.7%
Geely ranked second with 794,433 units and an 11.9% share, with sales down 15.6% year-on-year.
Changan was third with 439,448 units and a 6.6% share. Leapmotor followed closely with 428,765 units and a 6.4% share, with sales up 43.9% year-on-year.
HIMA ranked fifth with 329,739 units and a 4.9% share. Tesla came in sixth with 316,251 units and a 4.7% share, with sales down 12.4% year-on-year.
SAIC-GM-Wuling ranked seventh with 315,531 units, also accounting for a 4.7% share.
Nio came in eighth with 262,145 units, up 57.8% year-on-year, the fastest growth among the top 10 in the cumulative rankings.
Li Auto ranked ninth with 261,619 units, just 526 fewer than Nio. Both held a 3.9% share.
Xiaomi Auto placed tenth with 246,475 units and a 3.7% share, with sales up 9.7% year-on-year.
In the broader passenger car market, which includes traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, BYD led August retail sales with a 15.2% share. Geely ranked second with 170,584 units and an 11.1% share.
China’s Aug 2026 passenger vehicle retail ranking
China’s Aug 2026 passenger vehicle retail ranking
Ranking
Automaker
Retail Sales
Market Share
1
BYD
233,943
15.2%
2
Geely
170,584
11.1%
3
Chery
85,499
5.5%
4
Leapmotor
84,874
5.5%
5
Changan
79,625
5.2%
6
FAW-Volkswagen
77,872
5.1%
7
SAIC-GM-Wuling
60,106
3.9%
8
FAW Toyota
54,976
3.6%
9
GAC Toyota
52,367
3.4%
10
SAIC-Volkswagen
51,600
3.3%
Chery rose to third with 85,499 units, narrowly ahead of Leapmotor’s 84,874. Both held a 5.5% share.
Changan ranked fifth with 79,625 units and a 5.2% share.
Joint-venture brands remained under pressure. FAW-Volkswagen ranked sixth with August retail sales of 77,872 units, down 35.8% year-on-year.
SAIC-GM-Wuling, FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota ranked seventh through ninth, respectively. SAIC-Volkswagen came in tenth with 51,600 units, down 42.7% year-on-year.
For January-August, BYD maintained its lead in overall passenger car retail sales with a 12.4% share. Geely sold 1,352,574 units for an 11.5% share.
China’s Jan-Aug 2026 passenger vehicle retail ranking
China’s Jan-Aug 2026 passenger vehicle retail ranking
Ranking
Automaker
Retail Sales
Market Share
1
BYD
1,448,283
12.4%
2
Geely
1,352,574
11.5%
3
FAW-Volkswagen
709,274
6.1%
4
Changan
706,232
6.0%
5
Chery
573,202
4.9%
6
SAIC-Volkswagen
480,380
4.1%
7
GAC Toyota
446,594
3.8%
8
Leapmotor
428,765
3.7%
9
SAIC-GM-Wuling
391,782
3.3%
10
FAW Toyota
378,856
3.2%
After overtaking Geely in the January-July rankings, BYD widened its cumulative sales lead to 95,709 units from 32,350.
BYD produces only NEVs, including battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models. Tesla produces only BEVs, while Geely still offers traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.
Leapmotor and Zeekr continued to set records, while Xpeng and Li Auto returned to sequential growth.
