China's passenger-car retail sales fell 24% in September
New-energy cars still took 67.1% of September 2026 sales, the China Passenger Car Association said on Saturday, October 10, while factories shipped more of them than a year earlier.
Key takeaways
Buyers in China bought 1.702 million passenger cars in September 2026, 24% fewer than in September 2025, the China Passenger Car Association said on Saturday in a preliminary count. Sales were 10% higher than in August.
The weakness is not new to this month. Retail sales for the first nine months of 2026 were 13.418 million, down 21% from a year earlier.
September opens the traditional autumn peak for car sales in China, the association says. On Thursday, September 17, it forecast a 24.6% drop for the month. Saturday's count landed close to that warning.
New-energy cars fell less than the market. That means battery-electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Shops sold 1.141 million of them, down 12% from a year earlier and up 14% from August. They were 67.1% of September retail, up from 57.8% a year earlier on the association's figures.
The association had already called September 2025 difficult to match. In its scan of September 1 through September 20, it said a rush to buy, ahead of subsidy suspensions in some regions, had pushed September 2025 retail sales to a record high. That base, it said, was weighing on the 2026 figures.
New-energy shipments rose
Factories shipped 2.528 million passenger cars in September, down 10% from a year earlier. Retail sales fell 24% from a year earlier.
Shipments of new-energy cars were 1.672 million, up 11% from a year earlier, against a 12% drop in shop sales of those cars.
Wholesale counts cars leaving the factory, including cars sent abroad and cars delivered to dealers. It is not a count of what households in China bought.
On Friday, October 9, in a wholesale estimate, the association said new-energy exports had been unusually strong, as high oil prices overseas lasted longer than expected. That, it said, had widened the split in the market.
BYD, the Chinese automaker, said on Thursday, October 1, that it sold 463,561 vehicles worldwide in September, up 17% from a year earlier. Exports of its passenger vehicles and pickups rose 153.9%, to 179,877.
Tesla's Shanghai factory showed the same split. The association's figures, released on Friday, put wholesale sales from the plant at 95,366 vehicles, up 5% from a year earlier, the most of any month so far in 2026. Exports rose 58%, to 30,529. Deliveries to buyers in China fell 9%, to 64,837.
Both companies' September figures showed the export strength the association had named on Friday.
Frequently asked questions
How many passenger cars did buyers purchase in September?
Buyers in China bought 1.702 million passenger cars, 24% fewer than September 2025 and 10% more than in August.
Is the weakness only this month?
Retail sales for the first nine months of 2026 were 13.418 million, down 21% from a year earlier.
Did new-energy cars fall as hard as the market?
Shops sold 1.141 million new-energy cars, down 12% from a year earlier, and they were 67.1% of September retail.
Why did factory shipments fall less than shop sales?
Wholesale counts cars sent abroad and cars delivered to dealers, and the association said new-energy exports had been unusually strong.
