China September NEV retail sales fall 12% year-on-year, narrowed by late-month surge

• A sales surge in the final 3 days narrowed the year-on-year decline in NEV retail sales from 20% in the first 27 days.
• NEVs accounted for 67.1% of China's passenger vehicle retail sales in September.

China's retail sales of passenger new energy vehicles (NEVs) totaled 1.141 million in September, down 12% year-on-year but up 14% from August, according to preliminary figures released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Saturday.

That means the final 3 days of September contributed about 310,000 NEV retail sales, or nearly 28% of the monthly total, according to CnEVPost calculations. From September 1 to 27, retail sales of passenger NEVs in China totaled 827,000 units, a 20% year-on-year decline.

NEVs accounted for 67.1% of passenger vehicle retail sales in September, up from 65.7% in the first 27 days. Year-to-date NEV retail sales totaled 7.816 million, down 12% year-on-year.

Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs reached 1.672 million in September, up 11% both year-on-year and from August, marking the highest monthly total this year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

Year-to-date NEV wholesale sales totaled 11.45 million, up 9% year-on-year. NEVs accounted for 66.1% of passenger vehicle wholesale sales in September.

The broader passenger vehicle market posted a steeper decline. Retail sales totaled 1.702 million in September, down 24% year-on-year but up 10% from August. Year-to-date retail sales reached 13.42 million, down 21% year-on-year.

Total passenger vehicle wholesale sales were 2.528 million, down 10% year-on-year but up 7% from August. Wholesale sales of gasoline-powered vehicles fell 41% year-on-year, while their production for the domestic market dropped 52% in the first 3 weeks of September.

In previous years, the traditional September peak selling season brought broad-based growth, with both gasoline-powered vehicles and NEVs benefiting from rising demand, the CPCA said. This year, manufacturers are competing for existing demand, with gains concentrated almost entirely in NEVs and virtually no new demand for gasoline-powered vehicles.

By late July, cumulative increases in domestic gasoline prices this year had exceeded 830 yuan ($123) per metric ton, continuing to dampen consumers' willingness to buy gasoline-powered vehicles, the CPCA said.

Most NEV brands currently lack hot-selling models, but manufacturers still need to maintain steady production schedules and pursue sales targets, resulting in an elevated NEV share of the market.

Dealers face mounting operating pressure despite low inventories. Falling upstream raw material prices and a strengthening industry consensus on curbing excessive competition have concentrated profits upstream, intensifying tensions along the supply chain, the CPCA said.

China's lead in the global NEV market continues to widen. The country accounted for 62% of global passenger NEV sales in the first 8 months of 2026, with that share rising to 65.3% in July-August, according to CPCA data.

China's share of the global plug-in hybrid market reached 71% over the same 8-month period and rose to 74% in August. Chinese brands captured 29% of the overseas NEV market in August, up sharply from 15.8% for the full year of 2025.