The Zhitong Finance App learned that from October 1 to 11, the passenger car market retailed 459,000 vehicles, down 24% from the same period in October last year, up 7% from the same period last month. Since October 1, 13.793 million vehicles have been sold, down 22% year on year; from October 1 to 11, passenger car manufacturers across the country sold 385,000 vehicles, down 18% from the same period last month, down 15% from the same period last month. Since this year, 20.122 million vehicles have been sold, down 6% year on year.
New energy: From October 1 to 11, the national passenger car new energy market retailed 281,000 vehicles, down 13% from the same period last month, down 7% from the same period last month. The cumulative retail sales volume of 8.039 million units since this year was 8.039 million, down 13% year on year; from October 1 to 11, passenger car manufacturers sold 301,000 new energy vehicles, up 6% from the same period last month, down 11% from the same period last month, and a total of 11.5 million vehicles have been sold since this year, up 9% year on year.
Penetration rate: On October 1-11, the penetration rate of NEV retail sales in the national passenger car market was 61.2%; on October 1-11, the NEV wholesale penetration rate of passenger car manufacturers nationwide was 78.1%.
Retail sales trend in the national passenger car market in October 2026
In the first week of October, the national passenger car market sold an average of 33,000 vehicles per day, down 25% from the same period in October last year, and down 10% from the same period last month.
In the second week of October, the national passenger car market sold an average of 58,000 vehicles per day, down 22% from the same period in October last year, and up 32% from the same period last month.
From October 1 to 11, the national passenger car market retailed 459,000 vehicles, down 24% from the same period in October last year, up 7% from the same period last month. Since this year, 13.793 million passenger cars have been retailed, down 22% year on year.
Since the Mid-Autumn Festival is in late September, during the traditional “golden nine silver ten” consumption season, the effective sales period in October was longer, and terminal passenger traffic continued to pick up slightly.
International fuel prices continue to be high, vehicle costs are high, and fuel vehicle consumption exceeds expectations and is sluggish. The increase in consumer first purchases has been temporarily blocked, and replacement stocks have become an important support for steady growth.
The growth in the auto market in October was jointly driven by the National Day Auto Show, local subsidies, and peak season promotions for car companies, etc., and the recovery in the car market was relatively moderate.
Wholesale sales trend of national passenger car manufacturers in October 2026
In the first week of October, passenger car manufacturers across the country sold 21,000 vehicles per day, down 32% from the same period last October and 44% from the same period last month.
In the second week of October, passenger car manufacturers across the country sold an average of 60,000 vehicles per day, down 7% from the same period in October last year, and up 23% from the same period last month.
From October 1 to 11, passenger car manufacturers across the country sold 385,000 units, down 18% from the same period last October, down 15% from the same period last month; a total of 20.122 million passenger cars have been sold since this year, down 6% from the previous year.
In previous years, the “Golden Nine, Silver, Ten” fuel vehicles were able to get the cake. Demand for fuel trucks will be further compressed under high fuel prices this year. Due to the continued sharp decline in fuel vehicle retail sales, fuel vehicle domestic demand production fell 51% in the first two weeks of October. As a result, manufacturer sales were generally sluggish, and wholesale fuel vehicle manufacturers fell 53% in the first two weeks. Most NEV brands currently lack popular models, but manufacturers also need a stable production pace. As a huge industrial chain system, it is impossible to simply schedule production according to orders; they also need to consider production and sales targets. Most manufacturer sales and direct order sales have been converted to target sales, and sales targets for some models must be achieved without a backlog of orders. As a result, direct retail sales by manufacturers improved slightly in the first two weeks, and the penetration rate of new energy sources was abnormally high.
Tracking the export flow of Chinese car companies and overseas independent brand data from January to August 2026
Since 2021, with the outbreak of COVID-19 in the world, the advantages of the resilience of China's automobile industry chain have been fully reflected, and the Chinese automobile export market has shown strong growth in the past two years. Chinese autonomous car companies have strong sales characteristics in some overseas regions. In 2025, China's autonomous car companies sold 3.54 million vehicles locally in some regions that can be continuously counted overseas, up 28% year on year; in August 2026, their own brands sold 442,000 units in the Chinese overseas market, up 52% year on year; in January-August, China's own brands sold 3.36 million units, up 59% year on year. The retail performance of China's autonomous overseas countable market was very good.
Our overall autonomous vehicle sales share in overseas markets from January to August 2026 was 7.8%, an increase of 2.1 percentage points over the previous year. Autonomous vehicle sales vary greatly around the world, with 22% in the southern hemisphere, 12% in Europe, and around 9% in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but exports to the US, Japan, and South Korea are still very cautious. From January to August 2026, the overseas market sales share of autonomous new energy passenger vehicles was 24.8%, an increase of 9 percentage points over the same period in 2025. Among them, independent brands account for over 79% of new energy in the southern hemisphere, 47% in Southeast Asia and other regions, and 18.4% in Europe.
Low prices are an important foundation, and technological innovation promotes continuous breakthroughs in new energy sources. Due to lessons learned from the experience of Chinese home appliances and other industries going overseas, the strategies for automobiles to go overseas are becoming more and more clear and perfect. From KD assembly to localized production and overseas mergers and acquisitions, the results of automobile companies' overseas strategies are outstanding. At present, China's own brand exports have entered a new stage in the strategy of strengthening bases to build rural encircled cities in guerrilla zones. Overseas, independent brands started with the construction of KD assembly and gradually increased the construction of a localized industrial chain. With automakers as the lead, the results of parts and vehicles going overseas in groups were remarkable. SAIC Motor, Geely, Great Wall, Chery, etc. have achieved great success. Autonomous vehicle exports have basically completely switched from a buyout model to a distribution model. Autonomous vehicle brands such as BYD, Great Wall, and Chery build overseas localized business control centers to comprehensively monitor the system capabilities of local sales and service outlets, and the reputation of independent brands in the local market is getting better and better.
Autonomous car companies share 52% in the Russian market in August 2026
In August 2026, Russian car sales reached 124,000 units, down 8% year on year; in January-August, Russian car sales reached a high level of 920,000 units, up 6% year on year. In August 2026, China exported 96,700 vehicles to Russia, and its own brand sold 65,000 vehicles. Local sales volume was 68% of China's exports. In January-August, China exported 638,000 vehicles to Russia, and its own brand sold 500,000 units. Local sales were 78% of China's exports, which is generally relatively balanced.
In 2026, the share of Chinese independent brands in Russia reached a high level of 54.2%, and sales volume and revenue benefits were good. In 2026, a large number of models from international car companies will enter. German and Japanese companies will perform well, and the advantages of Korean cars will weaken. European and American brands picked up in the Russian market from January to August 2026. The main force was the explosion of models imported from Japan and South Korea. The cumulative growth rates of Nissan and Mazda reached 611% and 585% respectively, while Honda, Suzuki, Audi, and Volkswagen also achieved significant growth of more than 200%.
Facing the complex environment of the Russian market, it is of great strategic importance for independent brands to have more children and fight. Various models, such as official export of own-brand vehicles, parallel export, bypass exit, localized factory construction, and joint venture assembly, have joined forces, and a large number of brands have fought to achieve good results. The overall performance of China's autonomous NEV sales in the Russian market is good. In particular, high-end models such as extenders and plug-in hybrids have achieved good performance in replacing European and American luxury cars. Among new energy vehicles, brands such as Ideal, Extreme Krypton, and Rantu have outstanding performance characteristics. However, in the world, brands such as BYD and Xiaomi have also had a certain sales performance.
Discussion on classification calculation for new passenger cars in 2026/9
Recently, the introduction of new models of traditional cars in the passenger car market has gradually slowed down, and the introduction of new products from new energy sources has increased dramatically. Currently, the main car companies' products are gradually entering a competitive situation where there are many children, and car companies are showing intense price competition and a trend of breaking the circle. How these new models of traditional cars and new energy vehicles are classified is also very important. Each company has its own classification model, but we are still used to using the relatively mainstream A00, A0, A, B, C, and D classification models originating from the German public as the basis, and have become the industry's reference common classification method. Regarding this industry classification, it is estimated that this month's new car ratings are as follows. The specific adjustments are also for discussion only.
Dimension 1: Model granularity (product physical classification) hierarchy from thick to fine: model → power type → configuration model. 1. Coarse caliber (model). 2. Medium caliber (model+power), distinguishes power and is not classified as high or low. 3. Fine caliber (model+power+configuration model), the finest granularity, the largest quantity.
Dimension 2: The nature of the launch of a new car (life cycle change caliber, deciding whether to count as a “new new car”) 1. New models, replacement models (vertical replacement), major facelift (mid-term facelift), model year, parameter upgrades, style changes, etc.
Combinations are used in the analysis: dimension 1: medium caliber+dimension of model granularity; 2: pure new car combination in the nature of a new car launch.
There are 116 new products from January to September this year, including 36 extended-range models, 19 more than the same period last year; 9 hybrid models, 9 more than the same period; 27 hybrid models, 10 fewer than the same period; 62 pure electric models, 5 more than the same period; and 7 conventional fuel vehicles, 6 fewer than the same period. Some of these new cars are new models, some are new models that have been remodeled and renamed, and more are new energy models.
The number of 93 new own-brand cars in 2026 is 4 fewer than last year, yet new energy is still almost completely covered by autonomy. In 2026, the joint venture car company launched 15 new products. The main improvements were the full launch of new products, mainly mixing and increasing the range. There were 8 new luxury cars from January to September this year, 2 more than in the same period. Basically, they are all new energy sources. These new products are worth watching.