Overview
- Passenger car sales fell 14.5% year over year last month to 2.28 million, capping 2025 with 3.9% growth for the weakest annual pace in three years, CPCA data show.
- Electric and plug-in hybrid models outsold gasoline cars for the first full year in 2025, though new energy vehicle growth cooled to 17.6% from 40.7% in 2024.
- Exports rose 19.4% to 5.79 million vehicles in 2025, with pure EV shipments up 48.8% to 1.52 million and plug-in hybrid exports more than tripling; BYD reported over 1 million overseas sales.
- The CPCA forecasts a stagnant domestic market in 2026 and warns EV export growth will trend down due to inventory reduction pressure, falling oil prices and a softer global EV outlook.
- Local trade-in subsidies were cut or suspended late in 2025 and the national scheme shifted to a price-based cap of 20,000 yuan, which S&P says may not prevent a sales drop as dealer surveys flag lower 2026 targets.