In November, the retail sales of passenger cars in China dropped to 2.25 million vehicles, an 8.1% decrease compared to the same period last year, marking a consecutive two-month decline. Of particular concern is the continuous decline in retail sales of BYD for three consecutive months. The China Automobile Dealers Association predicts that the growth of the Chinese auto market will face significant pressure in 2026.
On December 8th, the China Passenger Car Association released data showing that in November, the retail sales of passenger cars in China fell to 2.25 million vehicles, an 8.1% year-on-year decrease and a 1.1% month-on-month decline, continuing the downward trend for two consecutive months. The drop in November is significantly higher than the 0.8% decline seen in October.
Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, stated, “It is rare to see a month-on-month decline in passenger car market sales in November.”
Looking at the rankings of retail sales of passenger cars in November, BYD, Geely Automobile, and FAW-Volkswagen are the top three, but both BYD and FAW-Volkswagen saw a year-on-year decline in sales, with BYD experiencing a 26.5% drop and FAW-Volkswagen a 6.5% decrease.
Additionally, Chery Automobile, Changan Automobile, SAIC Volkswagen, and FAW Toyota all experienced retail sales declines of over 20%.
It is worth noting that the retail sales of BYD have been declining for the third consecutive month, with a 31.4% year-on-year drop in October and a 5.52% decrease in September.
At a recent shareholders’ meeting, Wang Chuanfu, Chairman of BYD Group, stated, “This year, BYD’s domestic market sales have declined. This is partly due to BYD’s current technological superiority not being as high as in previous years, and on the other hand, user pain points such as slow charging speeds in low temperatures urgently need to be resolved through technological breakthroughs.”
Cui Dongshu predicted, “The car market in December is expected to show a relatively stable trend, with the possibility of a slight negative growth. This is because the overall trend of the current car market appears relatively stable.”
As for the auto market trend in 2026, the China Automobile Dealers Association predicted, “In 2026, the vehicle purchase tax for new energy vehicles will be halved (at a 5% tax rate) from being fully exempt, resulting in over 100 billion yuan less in tax exemption, thereby putting significant pressure on the growth of the auto market in 2026.”
On November 30th, the China Automobile Distribution Association released the latest issue of the “China Automobile Dealer Inventory Warning Index Survey” data. The survey revealed that as many as 80% of Chinese auto dealers hold a pessimistic view of their business operations in November, with only 8.2% of dealers believing that the business situation in December will be better. Dealers are facing challenges such as increasing inventory, decreasing foot traffic, and shrinking profits.