In December, China's passenger vehicle market recorded retail sales of 2.261 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 14.0%, but a month-on-month increase of 1.6%. Cumulative retail sales for the year reached 23.744 million units, representing a 3.8% growth compared to the same period last year. For the full year 2025, wholesale growth for passenger vehicles was 8.8%, while new energy passenger vehicle wholesale growth reached 25.2%, successfully meeting the new energy vehicle market growth expectations set in the "14th Five-Year Plan". Despite the year-end expiration of the new energy vehicle purchase tax exemption policy, which typically stimulates a year-end buying spree, the depletion of subsidy funds for vehicle replacement programs in most provinces created a counteracting effect on purchasing incentives. Coupled with adjustments to the vehicle replacement policies, market trends showed significant divergence. Recent substantial adjustments to subsidies across most provinces have intensified consumer wait-and-see attitudes, contributing to a notable deceleration in the December market. Rising upstream lithium carbonate prices and broader increases in non-ferrous raw material costs, against a backdrop of weak downstream demand, are escalating survival pressures for vehicle manufacturers. Some producers have proactively reduced production rates and inventory to build momentum for a strong start to the "16th Five-Year Plan" period.
Key characteristics of the December 2025 passenger vehicle market include: First, stable production and wholesale trends among manufacturers, with leading companies strategically reducing pressure. Second, the expiry of the purchase tax exemption boosted outstanding new energy retail performance, setting a new historical record. Third, a wave of new model launches and the push against "involution" helped curb disorderly price cuts, keeping new energy promotions around 10% without significant volume-for-price strategies. Fourth, domestic retail of internal combustion engine vehicles fell 30% year-on-year, while pure electric vehicle retail grew 2.5%, extended-range electric vehicles grew 15.4%, and plug-in hybrids declined 1.1%. The structural share of pure electric versus extended-range in new automakers shifted from 59%:41% last year to 71%:29%. Fifth, the domestic retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles reached 59.1%, showing a strong growth trend 32.6 percentage points higher than traditional vehicles due to the impending policy expiry, signaling a new "new energy-dominated" phase requiring timely policy adjustments for high-quality development. Sixth, from January to December, self-owned brand ICE vehicle exports were 2.87 million, down 7%, while self-owned new energy exports were 2.04 million, up 139%, accounting for 49.5% of self-owned exports. With growing CKD exports, China's passenger vehicle exports are evolving from "simply selling cars" to "exporting the industrial chain," upgrading from rapid "volume" growth to a "quality" leap.
In December, self-owned brand retail sales were 1.46 million units, down 11% year-on-year and 2.1% month-on-month. Their domestic retail market share for the month was 64.3%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points year-on-year. From January to December, the self-owned brand retail market share was 65%, up 4.8 percentage points from the previous year, with significant gains in the new energy and export markets. Leading traditional automakers like Geely Auto, Changan Automobile, and Great Wall Motor showed excellent transformation and upgrading, with noticeably increased brand shares. Mainstream joint venture brand retail in December was 510,000 units, down 27% year-on-year but up 5% month-on-month. German brands held a 14.9% retail share (down 1.3 pp), Japanese brands 12.1% (down 1.3 pp), and American brands 6.8% (up 0.2 pp). Korean and other European brands saw slight increases. Luxury vehicle retail was 290,000 units, down 1% year-on-year but up 17% month-on-month, capturing a 12.8% market share, a 2 percentage point increase year-on-year.
According to passenger vehicle association data, December passenger vehicle exports (including complete vehicles and CKD) reached 588,000 units, up 46.2% year-on-year but down 2% month-on-month. Cumulative exports from January to December were 5.739 million units, a 19.7% increase. New energy vehicles accounted for 46.4% of December exports, a significant increase of 15.6 percentage points. Self-owned brand exports reached 515,000 units, up 50% year-on-year but down 2% month-on-month; joint venture and luxury brand exports were 73,000 units, up 25%.
Passenger vehicle production in December was 2.791 million units, down 4.6% year-on-year and 10.1% month-on-month. Cumulative production from January to December was 29.633 million units, up 10.4% year-on-year. December production decreased by 135,000 units compared to December 2024's 2.926 million, indicating substantial production cuts. Luxury brand production grew 5% year-on-year but fell 8% month-on-month; joint venture brand production plummeted 20% year-on-year and 13% month-on-month; self-owned brand production dipped 1% year-on-year and 10% month-on-month.
National passenger vehicle manufacturer wholesale volume in December was 2.789 million units, down 9.0% year-on-year and 7.0% month-on-month. Cumulative wholesale from January to December was 29.554 million units, up 8.8%. Influenced by retail adjustments, the year-on-year wholesale growth rate in December was 5 percentage points higher than the retail growth rate. Self-owned manufacturer wholesale was 1.912 million units, down 5% year-on-year and 11% month-on-month. Mainstream joint venture manufacturer wholesale was 574,000 units, down 21% year-on-year and 1% month-on-month. Luxury vehicle wholesale was 302,000 units, down 5% year-on-year but up 8% month-on-month. The overall wholesale landscape among major manufacturers continued to shift, with signs of emerging mid-tier companies. Tesla, GAC Honda, Nio, and Li Auto showed strong month-on-month performance. Six manufacturers had wholesale volumes exceeding 100,000 units (compared to 8 in November and 9 last year), holding a 45.6% market share (57% last month, 59% last year). Manufacturers with 50,000-100,000 wholesale units held a 28.1% share (22% last month, 24% last year), while those with 10,000-50,000 units held a 24% share (18% last month, 14% last year).
Due to stable production in December, wholesale figures were largely flat with production. However, monthly domestic wholesale was 60,000 units lower than retail, leading to an industry-wide inventory decrease of 60,000 units (compared to a 100,000 unit decrease last year). This December's inventory reduction was manufacturer-driven, whereas last year's was retail-driven. Cumulative industry inventory from January to December increased by 120,000 units (compared to a decrease of 860,000 units last year, an increase of 40,000 in 2023, and 500,000 in 2022).
New energy passenger vehicle production in December reached 1.560 million units, up 7.6% year-on-year but down 11.2% month-on-month; cumulative production from January to December was 15.348 million units, a 26.1% increase. December new energy wholesale sales were 1.563 million units, up 3.3% year-on-year but down 8.4% month-on-month; cumulative wholesale was 15.319 million units, up 25.2%. Conventional ICE passenger vehicle wholesale was 1.230 million units, down 21% year-on-year and 5% month-on-month; cumulative wholesale was 14.230 million units, down 5%. December new energy passenger vehicle retail sales were 1.337 million units, up 2.6% year-on-year and 1.2% month-on-month; cumulative retail was 12.809 million units, up 17.6%. Conventional ICE vehicle retail was 920,000 units, down 30% year-on-year but up 2% month-on-month; cumulative retail was 10.940 million units, down 9%. New energy passenger vehicle exports were 273,000 units, surging 119.8% year-on-year but down 4.0% month-on-month; cumulative exports were 2.422 million units, up 86.2%. Conventional ICE vehicle exports were 315,000 units, up 13% year-on-year and down 0.4% month-on-month; cumulative exports were 3.320 million units, down 5%.
1) Wholesale: The new energy vehicle manufacturer wholesale penetration rate in December was 56.0%, up 6.6 percentage points from December 2024. The penetration rate for self-owned brand new energy vehicles was 72.8%; for luxury vehicle new energy, it was 42.5%; while for mainstream joint ventures, it remained low at only 7.2%. Pure electric wholesale sales were 940,000 units, up 5.8% year-on-year but down 9.4% month-on-month. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) wholesale sales were 476,000 units, down 3.8% year-on-year and 9.2% month-on-month. Extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) wholesale was 147,000 units, up 13.4% year-on-year and 1.6% month-on-month. The December new energy wholesale structure was: Pure Electric 60.2% (up 1.5 pp YoY, down 0.6 pp MoM), PHEV 30.4% (down 2.3 pp YoY, down 0.3 pp MoM), EREV 9.4% (up 0.8 pp YoY, up 0.9 pp MoM). The January-December 2025 structure was: Pure Electric 61.8% (up 3.6 pp), PHEV 29.5% (down 2.5 pp), EREV 8.7% (down 1.1 pp). B-segment EV wholesale was 303,000 units, up 5% YoY and 7% MoM, accounting for 32.2% of the pure electric segment, down 0.5 pp YoY. The A00+A0 segment economy EVs performed relatively well. A00 segment wholesale was 117,000 units, down 33% YoY and 34% MoM, holding a 12.4% share of pure electric (down 7.2 pp YoY). A0 segment wholesale was 244,000 units, a 26% share (up 2.6 pp YoY). A-segment EVs were 214,000 units, a 22.8% share (up 0.1 pp YoY). The growth of economy EVs is crucial, as their普及 is key to driving overall market增量.
There were 27 models with wholesale sales exceeding 20,000 units in December (32 in November), including Model Y (66,189), BYD Song (55,107), BYD Seagull (44,627), Geely Xingyuan (41,619), Xiaomi YU7 (39,089), BYD Qin (37,252), Fang Cheng Bao Titanium 7 (34,088), BYD Sea Lion 06 (32,168), Chery Explore 06 (31,277), Model 3 (30,982), AITO M7 (28,877), Honda Accord (28,676), BYD Yuan UP (27,129), Wuling Binguo (25,652), Honda CR-V (25,140), BYD Dolphin (24,417), BYD Seal 06 (24,055), BYD Qin L (23,415), Nissan Sylphy (23,221), Chery Tiggo 8 (22,896), Nio ES8 (22,276), Toyota Frontlander (22,223), Volkswagen Tiguan (21,591), Toyota Camry (21,455), Chery Tiggo 7 (20,995), Geely Boyue (20,821), Volkswagen Magotan (20,361). Among these, 17 were new energy models. Traditional ICE models like the Accord, CR-V, Audi Q5, Omoda 5, and BMW 5 Series showed strong domestic performance this month.
2) Retail: The retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the overall domestic passenger vehicle market reached 59.1% in December, up 9.6 percentage points year-on-year. Within December domestic retail, the penetration rate for new energy vehicles among self-owned brands was 80.9%; among luxury vehicles, it was 39.1%; while for mainstream joint ventures, it remained low at only 8.2%. Looking at the domestic retail share of new energy vehicles by player type in December: Self-owned brands held 64.4%, down 6.7 pp YoY; mainstream joint ventures held 3.7%, up 0.9 pp; new automakers (like Xpeng, Leapmotor, Xiaomi) held 23.5%, up 4.9 pp; Tesla held 7.0%, up 0.6 pp.
3) Export: December new energy passenger vehicle exports were 273,000 units, up 119.8% YoY but down 4.0% MoM, accounting for 46.4% of passenger vehicle exports, a significant increase of 15.4 pp YoY. Pure electric vehicles accounted for 57.9% of new energy exports (62.5% last year), with the core focus on A00+A0 segment EVs, which made up 68% of pure electric exports (52% last year). As China's new energy vehicle scale advantages become apparent and market expansion continues, Chinese-made new energy brands are increasingly going global, gaining recognition overseas. Plug-in hybrids accounted for 40% of new energy exports (37% last year). Despite recent external disruptions, self-owned PHEV exports to developing countries are growing rapidly with bright prospects. Top performers in new energy exports for December were: BYD (131,637 units), Chery (40,410 units), Geely (18,275 units), Leapmotor (13,367 units), SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle (12,077 units), SAIC-GM-Wuling (8,995 units), Volvo Asia Pacific (7,110 units), Great Wall Motor (5,997 units), Polestar (5,747 units), Xpeng (5,235 units), Tesla China (3,328 units), BAW (2,878 units), Changan Automobile (2,724 units), Spotlight Automotive (1,898 units), GAC Aion (1,859 units), Zhimada Auto (1,560 units), Dongfeng Honda (1,440 units), Link Tour Auto (1,408 units), FAW Bestune (1,396 units). Other automakers also had notable export volumes. In terms of overseas system development, some self-owned brands have a high proportion of CKD exports; Great Wall Motor's CKD exports accounted for 53.2%, and SAIC-GM-Wuling's for 38%. The transition from complete vehicle exports to CKD exports and localized production systems is progressing well, with Great Wall Motor and SAIC-GM-Wuling performing exceptionally.
4) Automakers: Overall trends for new energy passenger vehicle enterprises were strong in December. BYD's dual-drive strategy with pure electric and PHEV solidified its leading position among self-owned brands. Performers like BYD, Geely, and Chery showed sustained strength in the PHEV segment. With the implementation of "multi-pronged" new energy strategies by self-owned automakers, the market base continues to expand. The number of manufacturers with monthly new energy wholesale sales exceeding 10,000 units reached 24 (up 6 YoY, up 2 MoM), accounting for 94.8% of total new energy passenger vehicle sales (94.2% last month, 93.8% last year). These included: BYD (414,784), Geely Auto (154,264), Tesla China (97,171), Changan Auto (93,986), Chery Auto (81,760), SAIC-GM-Wuling (62,957), Leapmotor (60,423), Seres (53,654), Xiaomi Auto (50,212), Nio (48,135), Li Auto (44,246), GAC Aion (42,140), Great Wall Motor (38,858), Dongfeng Motor (38,442), SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle (38,349), Xpeng (37,508), Arcfox (24,834), FAW Bestune (20,493), FAW Hongqi (17,814), GAC Toyota (13,999), Volvo Asia Pacific (13,937), IM Motors (11,818), Dongfeng Nissan (11,371), and BAIC BJEV (10,000). Companies with domestic new energy retail sales exceeding 20,000 units were: BYD (339,854), Geely Auto (135,989), Tesla China (93,843), Harmony Intelligent Driving (HIMA, 89,611), SAIC-GM-Wuling (68,777), Changan Auto (61,630), Chery Auto (51,723), Xiaomi Auto (50,212), Nio (47,385), Leapmotor (47,056), Li Auto (44,246), Dongfeng Motor (37,300), GAC Aion (35,489), Great Wall Motor (32,861), Xpeng (32,273), SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle (27,648), and Arcfox (24,834). Self-owned mainstream automakers are increasingly strong in new energy, with Geely Auto, HIMA, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Changan Auto, Xiaomi Auto, and Leapmotor performing very well in domestic retail.
5) New Automakers: The retail share of new automakers reached 23.5% in December, up 4.9 percentage points year-on-year. The share of pure electric vehicles within new automaker sales was 70.9%, significantly higher than 59.4% last year; the share of 100,000-150,000 RMB pure electric models within new automakers grew substantially. Independent new energy brands launched by traditional self-owned automakers, as "second-generation innovators," performed strongly, holding a 16.17% share, up 2.7 pp YoY. Brands like Deepal, Voyah, Zeekr, Arcfox, and Li Auto (from major groups) showed excellent performance.
6) Hybrids (HEV): December wholesale of standard hybrid electric passenger vehicles was 90,000 units, down 18% YoY but up 3% MoM. Major contributors were FAW Toyota (42,246), GAC Toyota (36,357), Dongfeng Honda (4,162), Changan Ford (3,923), and GAC Honda (3,070). The standard hybrid market is relatively stable, with self-owned brand HEVs showing stronger performance in overseas markets.
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