China NEV retail share: BYD leads September at 22.8%, Tesla climbs to fourth

• Tesla's share rose to 6.0%, while Li Auto and Nio dropped out of the top 10 in NEV retail sales.
• BYD retained the top spot for January-September with 1,695,099 vehicles sold, despite a 33.3% year-on-year decline.

BYD (HKEX: 1211) continued to lead China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market in September with a 22.8% share, while Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) climbed to fourth from sixth in August.

BYD's passenger NEV retail sales in China totaled 246,816 vehicles in September, down 28.9% year-on-year but up 5.5% from August, according to rankings released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Tuesday.

Its NEV market share slipped from 23.3% in August but remained more than double that of second-placed Geely Auto (HKEX: 0175), preserving its lead amid broader pressure on the domestic market.

Geely ranked second in NEV retail sales with 119,682 vehicles, down 20.5% year-on-year but up 8.3% month-on-month. Its market share was unchanged from August at 11.0%.

Leapmotor (HKEX: 9863) remained third with 78,202 vehicles, up 30.8% year-on-year but down 7.9% month-on-month. Its share fell to 7.2% from 8.4% in August.

Tesla's September retail sales rose 29.6% month-on-month to 64,837 vehicles, lifting its share to 6.0% from 5.0% in August. Its ranking improved for a second consecutive month.

However, Tesla's China retail sales were still down 9.4% year-on-year, indicating that the monthly rebound had yet to reverse its annual decline.

Changan Automobile (SZSE: 000625) slipped to fifth with 61,732 vehicles, down 26.7% year-on-year but up 6.7% month-on-month, giving it a 5.7% share.

SAIC-GM-Wuling ranked sixth with 54,810 vehicles, down 32.8% year-on-year but up 3.2% month-on-month, for a 5.1% share.

Chery (HKEX: 9973) remained seventh with 46,860 vehicles, down 12.3% year-on-year but up 1.0% month-on-month. Its share fell to 4.3% from 4.6% in August.

SAIC Passenger Vehicle returned to the top 10 in eighth place with 40,280 vehicles, up 86.6% year-on-year and 45.6% month-on-month, giving it a 3.7% share.

SAIC Passenger Vehicle posted the fastest growth among the top 10 on both a yearly and monthly basis. It and Leapmotor were the only 2 manufacturers on September's list to record year-on-year growth.

Xiaomi Auto, the automotive unit of Xiaomi (HKEX: 1810), also returned to the top 10, ranking ninth with 40,015 vehicles. Sales fell 4.6% year-on-year but rose 32.7% month-on-month, giving it a 3.7% share.

Huawei-backed HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) fell to tenth from eighth in August, with retail sales of 37,490 vehicles. That was down 29.2% year-on-year and 11.0% month-on-month, for a 3.5% share.

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) and Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), which ranked ninth and tenth respectively in August, both dropped out of September's top 10 in NEV retail sales.

For January-September, BYD retained the top spot with 1,695,099 vehicles, despite a 33.3% year-on-year decline. Its share rose to 21.8% from 21.7% in January-August.

Geely ranked second with 914,115 vehicles, down 16.3% year-on-year. Its share slipped to 11.8% from 11.9% in January-August.

Leapmotor overtook Changan to rank third in cumulative sales, with 506,967 vehicles, up 41.7% year-on-year. Changan ranked fourth with 501,180 vehicles, down 13.6%.

Both automakers held a 6.5% share, but Leapmotor led Changan by 5,787 vehicles, reversing its deficit at the end of August.

Tesla rose to fifth with 381,088 vehicles, down 11.9% year-on-year, for a 4.9% share. SAIC-GM-Wuling climbed to sixth with 370,341 vehicles and a 4.8% share.

HIMA fell to seventh with 367,229 vehicles, up 5.3% year-on-year. Its share declined to 4.7% from 4.9% in January-August.

Nio remained eighth with 299,376 vehicles and a 3.9% share. Its 49.1% year-on-year increase was still the fastest among the top 10 in cumulative sales.

Li Auto remained ninth with 293,436 vehicles, down 1.2% year-on-year, for a 3.8% share. Chery entered the ranking in tenth place with 289,378 vehicles and a 3.7% share, while Xiaomi Auto dropped out.

In the broader passenger car market, which includes conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, China's September retail sales totaled 1.618 million vehicles, down 28.0% year-on-year but up 5.0% month-on-month.

NEVs accounted for a record 67.0% of retail sales. The CPCA said the traditionally strong "Golden September" sales season fell well short of expectations, with domestic retail sales of conventional fuel-powered passenger cars nearly halving.

BYD's share of the overall passenger car market rose to 15.3% in September from 15.2% in August. Geely ranked second with 176,619 vehicles and a 10.9% share.

Chery remained third with 86,176 vehicles and a 5.3% share. Changan rose to fourth with 81,620 vehicles, while Leapmotor slipped to fifth with 78,202 vehicles, giving them shares of 5.0% and 4.8%, respectively.

FAW-Volkswagen ranked sixth with 76,827 vehicles, down 44.6% year-on-year. Tesla entered the ranking in seventh place with a 4.0% share of the overall market.

SAIC-GM-Wuling, FAW Toyota and SAIC-Volkswagen ranked eighth through tenth, with retail sales of 61,361, 61,159 and 58,702 vehicles, respectively.

In the first 9 months of the year, China's passenger car retail sales totaled 13.334 million vehicles, down 21.7% year-on-year, with BYD and Geely retaining the top 2 positions.

BYD's cumulative share rose to 12.7% from 12.4% in January-August. Geely's retail sales totaled 1,529,193 vehicles, giving it an 11.5% share.

BYD widened its cumulative sales lead over Geely to 165,906 vehicles from 95,709 at the end of August.

BYD produces only NEVs, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Tesla produces only BEVs, while Geely continues to offer conventional fuel-powered vehicles.