[AUTOHOME News] In August, China's passenger vehicle market remained in the summer sales off-season, but still saw significant improvement compared with July. The performance in the last week of August was particularly eye-catching, which means that the auto market will usher in a full recovery in September, and the launch of a large number of new models in September will also inject a strong shot in the arm. The retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles reached 65.7% in August, and the wholesale sales of the new energy market registered both year-on-year and month-on-month growth, which has also been confirmed by the sales data released by some car companies.
Although the auto market was still in the summer sales off-season in August, if we review the sales performance of new power car brands at the beginning of this year, we will find that sales have shown a substantial increase. Affected by the withdrawal of the new energy vehicle purchase tax reduction and exemption policy at the beginning of the year, the sales performance of new power brands was poor in the whole first quarter. Even brands with good sales only had monthly sales of 20,000 to 30,000 units, while the performance in August this year remained at 30,000 to 45,000 units. Leapmotor, in particular, saw its monthly sales exceed 100,000 units. It is not difficult to see that the impact of the new energy subsidy policy on the market has basically subsided, and the industry development has returned to the product and market itself.
Leapmotor has the most prominent growth momentum this year. Its monthly sales were around 30,000 units at the beginning of the year, and now it has exceeded 100,000 units for two consecutive months. With the launch of A-series and D-series models, the iteration of C-series models, and the firm foothold of B-series models this year, all models of the whole series have gained great popularity and sold well in the market. At the same time, Leapmotor's overseas business is growing at a high speed, which has become an important supplement to the brand's sales growth.
Changan Qiyuan Q05
Brands that also show rapid sales growth from the beginning of the year to the second half of the year include Changan Qiyuan, Fangchengbao, Xpeng and other brands. Compared with the data in July, brands such as Changan Qiyuan and Li Auto have more prominent growth momentum; compared with the data in August last year, brands such as Fangchengbao, Zeekr, Nio, Ora all achieved a year-on-year growth rate of more than 100%.
Most new power brands have stepped out of the "life and death line". Despite the fierce market competition and the market environment this year is not as good as everyone expected at the beginning of the year, the sales data released by various companies show that the industry has not seen an extreme pattern of oligopoly and small and medium-sized car companies being out of the market. The overall industry presents a sound development momentum of a hundred flowers blooming, and each brand has gained a firm foothold in the segmented track by virtue of its own product and technical advantages. At the same time, pure electrification and family SUVs have become the mainstream of the current market. In the upcoming September, with the concentrated launch of new models and the continuous release of market demand, sales may hit a new high, and the new energy penetration rate is also expected to usher in a new breakthrough.
● Sales of traditional car brands: Soaring sales stem from product transformation
For traditional car brands, those with faster transformation in the electrification field also have the most rapid growth, and BYD is the most outstanding performer here. Affected by the adjustment of new energy policies at the beginning of the year, BYD's market performance was not ideal, with monthly sales of only 177,500 units, even overtaken by Geely. It was also affected by policy changes, while Geely also had fuel vehicle models as support. By August, BYD's sales had recovered to 375,000 units, showing a month-on-month increasing trend. Of course, for BYD's rapid sales counterattack, in addition to the recovery of the domestic new energy market, the substantial expansion of overseas business has effectively hedged the competitive pressure of the domestic market.
BYD Yuan UP
From the perspective of month-on-month data, most traditional car brands that have released sales data in August achieved positive growth, which is in line with the overall trend of the auto market recovering in the off-season. However, compared with the sales data in August 2025, except for a few brands such as BYD that achieved year-on-year sales growth, most brands saw a year-on-year decline in sales, which is also the reason why most brands did not release year-on-year growth data. The core reason is the shrinkage of the fuel vehicle market, and apart from BYD, most traditional car brands still occupy a considerable share in the fuel vehicle market.
Domestic gasoline price trend chart this year
Affected by the fluctuation of international oil prices this year, domestic gasoline prices have shown a "roller coaster" trend. 17 price adjustment windows have been opened this year, including 11 gasoline price increases. At present, the price of No. 92 gasoline has exceeded 8 yuan per liter, and the highest point this year was close to 9 yuan per liter. The instability of oil prices continues to impact the fuel vehicle market, and even the hybrid vehicle market has been affected. Against this background, many traditional car brands continue to accelerate the new energy transformation, while exploring overseas markets on the other hand, after all, fuel vehicles are still the main force in overseas markets.
Geely Galaxy Battleship 700
The domestic fuel vehicle market has not completely lost its momentum, but taps new increments through differentiated innovation. For example, the currently popular boxy SUVs that are suitable for both urban and off-road use have become a new trend now. Traditional mechanical structures still have enough popularity in the four-wheel drive market, after all, when traveling far away, people are still willing to trust more reliable models. In addition, the oil-electric hybrid market is heating up again, which has also become a new increment for the fuel vehicle market. Larger battery packs and more powerful motors make the performance of oil-electric hybrid models more excellent.
● Carmaker sales: Overseas market has become the core incremental market
The sales of major car groups generally recovered in August, achieving different degrees of month-on-month growth compared with the off-season in July, which confirms at the macro level that the auto market has started the recovery rhythm and preheats the "Golden September" market in advance. Among them, BYD and Chery Group have particularly outstanding performance: BYD's sales in January were only 205,500 units, and climbed sharply to 440,000 units in August; Chery's sales in January were 200,000 units, and increased to 280,000 units in August, with a steady growth momentum.
Compared with the data in August 2025, BYD, Chery and Geely achieved year-on-year positive sales growth, and new energy business has become the core driving force for overall sales growth. In detail, BYD's full line of models are all new energy products, with new energy sales accounting for 100%; Geely's new energy sales account for 65%; Chery's new energy sales account for 43%, and the effectiveness of new energy transformation continues to highlight.
Chery's Rosslyn Plant in South Africa put into operation in July
In addition, the overseas market has also become the core of the rapid sales growth of various car companies, and the following set of data may be more intuitive. BYD's overseas sales in August 2025 were 80,464 units, accounting for 21.5% of total sales; its overseas sales in August 2026 climbed to 188,746 units, and the sales share rose to 42.9%. Chery Group exported 129,472 units in August 2025, accounting for 53.3% of total sales; it exported 196,984 units in August 2026, and the sales share was as high as 70.3%. Geely Auto's overseas exports in August 2025 were 36,077 units, accounting for 14.4% of total sales; its overseas exports in August 2026 were 110,094 units, and the sales share reached 40.7%. Changan Automobile's overseas sales in August 2025 were 56,000 units, accounting for 24% of total sales; its overseas sales in August 2026 were 92,400 units, and the sales share rose to 42.2%.
It can be seen that overseas markets account for more than 40% of the group sales of BYD, Geely and Changan, and Chery Group even accounts for 70%. Chinese car companies are moving towards globalization, and overseas markets have become a core channel for car companies to break through domestic stock competition and obtain increments. Against this background, more and more new power car companies also choose to go global. For example, Xiaomi Auto recently announced that it will enter overseas markets soon.
● Editor's Comment:
After a period of calm in the market, we finally saw positive market trends at the end of August, laying a foundation for sales growth in September. From the perspective of the market in August, the new energy market is still the core driving force for the growth of the whole market. At the same time, the overseas market has become a key track for car companies to break through bottlenecks and expand increments. More and more car companies choose to go global to promote the achievement of annual sales targets. Looking ahead to September, we will usher in the intensive launch of new models, which will promote sales growth. Whether car companies can achieve the 2026 sales target depends on the next few months. (Text / Qin Chao, AutoHome)