Latest sales data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) for April 2026 shows retail sales of domestically produced passenger vehicles reached 1.384 million units, representing a year-on-year decrease of 21.5% and a month-on-month decline of 16.0%. Cumulative sales for the January to April period totaled 5.604 million units, down 18.5% year-on-year.

Under the sustained impact of high fuel prices, the conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle market experienced a sharp decline. In April, retail sales of conventional fuel-powered passenger vehicles were only 530,000 units, falling 37% year-on-year and 33% month-on-month. Influenced by factors such as weak consumer confidence and high oil prices, the domestic passenger vehicle market exhibits a fundamental operational trend characterized by "slowing domestic demand, robust export growth, contraction in ICE vehicles, and dominance of new energy vehicles."

In stark contrast to the bleak performance of the ICE vehicle market, the new energy vehicle (NEV) market remains robust. Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in April reached 849,000 units, a slight year-on-year decrease of 6.8% and a marginal month-on-month drop of 0.3%. The retail penetration rate of NEVs within the total domestic passenger vehicle market reached 61.4%, an increase of 9.7 percentage points year-on-year and 9.6 percentage points month-on-month, historically surpassing the 60% threshold for the first time. According to CPCA Secretary General Cui Dongshu, the NEV penetration rate exceeding 60% in April, compared to around 52% in March, represents a "leapfrog" development. A significant contributing factor is the substantial decline in demand for fuel vehicles, which in turn has driven up the NEV penetration rate.

Competition within the top tier of the retail sales brand ranking is particularly intense. Byd Company Limited (BYD) firmly secured the top position with 182,025 units, followed by GEELY AUTO (95,585 units), Changan Automobile (64,471 units), LEAPMOTOR (57,162 units), and Xiaomi Auto (36,702 units), which together rounded out the top five. Xiaomi Auto's official figures for April deliveries exceeded 30,000 units, with actual market performance far surpassing delivery targets, marking its first entry into the top five of the sales ranking.

Export performance was equally impressive, with passenger vehicle exports reaching 769,000 units, surging 80.7% year-on-year. Exports of self-owned brands reached 653,000 units, up 91% year-on-year. Byd Company Limited (BYD) led significantly with 130,042 units exported in the single month, followed by Chery Automobile (57,910 units), Tesla Motors China (53,522 units), and GEELY AUTO (48,901 units).