CPCA: National passenger vehicle market retail sales from September 1-13 were 515,000 units, down 23% year-on-year and up 4% month-on-month.

On September 16, the CPCA released its weekly auto market scan. From September 1-13, national passenger vehicle market retail sales were 515,000 units, down 23% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 4% month-on-month. Cumulative retail sales since the start of the year reached 12.231 million units, down 21% year-on-year. From September 1-13, national passenger vehicle manufacturer wholesale volume was 550,000 units, down 22% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 22% month-on-month. Cumulative wholesale volume since the start of the year reached 17.733 million units, down 6% year-on-year. New energy: From September 1-13, national passenger vehicle new energy market retail sales were 362,000 units, down 10% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 16% month-on-month. Cumulative retail sales since the start of the year reached 7.036 million units, down 12% year-on-year. From September 1-13, national passenger vehicle manufacturer new energy wholesale volume was 411,000 units, up 1% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 26% month-on-month. Cumulative wholesale volume since the start of the year reached 10.189 million units, up 9% year-on-year. Penetration rate: From September 1-13, the new energy retail penetration rate in the national passenger vehicle market was 70.3%; from September 1-13, the new energy wholesale penetration rate for national passenger vehicle manufacturers was 74.7%. Production: In the first and second weeks of September, national pure fuel light vehicle production was 215,000 units, down 51% year-on-year and up 71% month-on-month; in the first and second weeks of September, hybrid and plug-in hybrid production totaled 174,000 units, down 20% year-on-year and up 33% month-on-month. 2026 September National Passenger Vehicle Market Retail Sales Trend In the first week of September, national passenger vehicle market average daily retail sales were 35,000 units, down 19% year-on-year from the same period last September and down 1% month-on-month. In the second week of September, national passenger vehicle market average daily retail sales were 44,000 units, down 26% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 8% month-on-month. From September 1-13, national passenger vehicle market retail sales were 515,000 units, down 23% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 4% month-on-month; cumulative retail sales since the start of the year reached 12.231 million units, down 21% year-on-year. In September, the market entered the traditional "Golden September and Silver October" consumption peak season, and terminal foot traffic is expected to continue recovering. At the macro level, the August manufacturing PMI rebounded month-on-month and CPI was stable, with the economy showing operating characteristics of "marginal demand recovery and overall stabilization at a low level," providing bottom support for the auto market recovery. However, September faces an ultra-high base from the same period last year in September 2025, a rush to buy before subsidies were suspended in some regions pushed monthly retail sales to a historic peak, and the high-base effect will further suppress the recovery effect in September this year. In September, the passenger vehicle market entered the traditional sales peak season, with local consumption promotion policies and automaker promotional activities continuing, benefiting the release of consumer demand. Previously launched new products continued to ramp up, and newly launched models such as the Pengcheng series brought increased popularity to support market performance. In past years, "Golden September" saw broad market gains, with first-time purchases and trade-ins released together, and both fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles able to share in the incremental growth; this year is a stock game of zero-sum shifts, with incremental growth basically concentrated in new energy, while fuel vehicles appear to have no new demand. Since the end of July, cumulative gasoline price increases during the year have exceeded 830 yuan/ton, while the appeal of new electric vehicle products has grown stronger, continuously suppressing willingness to consume fuel vehicles. Upstream raw material prices have fallen somewhat, and coupled with the gradual deepening of the industry's "anti-involution" consensus, upstream profits have surged; however, price pressure is transmitting from upstream to the vehicle manufacturing end. Although inventory is not high, dealer operating pressure continues to increase. 2026 September National Passenger Vehicle Manufacturer Wholesale Sales Trend In the first week of September, national passenger vehicle manufacturer average daily wholesale volume was 35,000 units, down 21% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 13% month-on-month. In the second week of September, national passenger vehicle manufacturer average daily wholesale volume was 49,000 units, down 23% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 28% month-on-month. From September 1-13, national passenger vehicle manufacturer wholesale volume was 550,000 units, down 22% year-on-year from the same period last September and up 22% month-on-month; cumulative passenger vehicle wholesale volume since the start of the year reached 17.733 million units, down 6% year-on-year. In past years' "Golden September and Silver October," the share that fuel vehicles could capture will be further compressed this year by high oil prices. Due to the continued sharp decline in fuel vehicle retail sales, domestic fuel vehicle production fell 51% in the first two weeks of September, so manufacturer sales were generally sluggish, with fuel vehicle manufacturer wholesale volume down 53% in the first two weeks. Most new energy vehicle brands currently lack hot-selling models, but manufacturers still need a stable production rhythm. As a huge industrial chain system, it is impossible to simply schedule production according to orders; production and sales targets must also be considered. Sales and direct-operated order sales for most manufacturers have already shifted to target-based sales. Even without backlog orders, sales targets for some models must be achieved. Therefore, manufacturer direct-operated retail sales improved slightly in the first two weeks, and the new energy penetration rate was abnormally high. 2026 August Automobile Industry Value Added Grew 8.7% Since the start of the year, policies and measures to expand domestic demand and promote consumption have continued to land and take effect. The development quality of China's consumer market has continued to improve, and new consumption formats and models are bursting with vitality. The low-end auto market is key to the auto market's development. Because the low-end auto market is not strong, consumption inevitably will not be strong. From January to August, total retail sales of consumer goods were 32,756.9 billion yuan, up 1.1% year-on-year. Among these, automobile consumption was 2,580.5 billion yuan, down 14% year-on-year; retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles were 30,176.4 billion yuan, up 2.7%. In August, total retail sales of consumer goods were 3,982.4 billion yuan, up 0.4% year-on-year. Among these, automobile consumption was 327.9 billion yuan, down 19% year-on-year; retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles were 3,654.5 billion yuan, up 2.5%. From January to August, sales area of newly built commercial housing was 498.80 million square meters, down 12.1% year-on-year; among this, residential sales area fell 13.0%. In August, the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size increased 5.2% year-on-year in real terms, among which automobile industry value added grew 8.7% in August, showing very strong automobile industry production performance. From January to August, the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size increased 5.3% year-on-year, with automobiles up 7.4%. From January to August 2026, automobile production was 20.31 million units, down 3% year-on-year. New energy vehicle production was 10.59 million units, up 11% year-on-year, with a penetration rate of 52%; fuel vehicle production was 9.72 million units, down 15% year-on-year. In August 2026, automobile production was 2.70 million units, down 3% year-on-year. New energy vehicle production was 1.65 million units, up 22% year-on-year, with a penetration rate of 61%; fuel vehicle production was 1.05 million units, down 26% year-on-year. From January to August 2026, fixed asset investment in the automobile industry fell 6% year-on-year, still higher than the average level of -7.2% across industries. Recently, investment pressure has been greater in the tertiary industry, especially with sharp declines in investment in public infrastructure, education, culture, and health. At present, although efforts are being made to stabilize international oil prices, the impact of high oil prices on the stability of industrial and supply chains and on consumer demand remains relatively obvious. High prices, surging food and clothing expenditures, insufficient effective demand, and lack of market vitality remain challenges, and the task of stabilizing industry growth remains arduous. Because the 2026 trade-in subsidy for passenger vehicles is far lower than that for commercial vehicles, commercial vehicle subsidies have driven particularly good growth in new energy retail sales, while new energy passenger vehicles have plunged. At present, low-end passenger vehicle consumption pressure is very high. We look forward to more long-term and strong follow-up policies in the future, such as reducing personal income tax for car buyers, promoting new energy vehicles in rural areas, establishing standards for economical electric vehicles, optimizing C7 economical electric vehicle driver's license application, giving greater purchase tax preferences to compliant pure electric vehicles with range below 200 kilometers, and encouraging car purchases related to marriage and childbirth, among other improvement measures, to drive car purchase consumption and promote economic growth. August National Pickup Truck Exports Accounted for 70% Pickup truck production and sales: In August 2026, pickup truck market sales were 54,000 units, up 29.5% year-on-year and down 3.9% month-on-month, at a high level for the month in the past five years. From January to August, sales were 455,000 units, up 17.8%. The domestic market and export market patterns show obvious differentiation. Great Wall Motor continues to maintain its strong leading position in pickup trucks, with relatively stable performance both domestically and internationally. Boosted by continued year-on-year export growth, SAIC Maxus, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp.,Ltd., Zhengzhou Nissan, and Chongqing Changan Automobile performed strongly. In the domestic pickup truck retail market, Great Wall Motor, Jiangling Motors Corporation,, Zhengzhou Nissan, Radar Auto, and Jiangxi Isuzu performed relatively well, and the domestic "one superpower and multiple strong players" pickup truck pattern continues. Pickup truck exports: The overseas market for pickup trucks is far larger than domestic market demand. Do not count on unrealistic expectations for the domestic market; going overseas is the only choice for high growth among pickup truck enterprises. In August 2026, national pickup truck exports were 38,000 units, up 82% year-on-year and down 5% month-on-month; from January to August 2026, national pickup truck exports were 266,000 units, up 45% year-on-year, with the industry export share continuing to remain high. In 2024, pickup truck exports accounted for 45% of total pickup truck sales; in 2025, pickup truck exports reached 50%; in cumulative 2026, pickup truck exports reached 55%; in August 2026, pickup truck exports reached 70%. Chinese independent pickup truck exports have improved relatively well. New energy pickup trucks: In 2024, Shanxi Guoxin Energy Corporation pickup truck sales were 21,000 units, up 170% year-on-year; in 2025, new energy pickup truck sales were 73,000 units, up 243%; in August 2026, new energy pickup truck sales were 9,000 units, up 150% year-on-year and down 2% month-on-month; from January to August 2026, new energy pickup truck sales were 62,000 units, up 18% year-on-year, forming a trend at the start of the year in which new energy pickup trucks were slightly weaker than the overall growth rate of fuel pickup trucks. With the development of electrification and passenger-carization, the pickup truck market space will still gradually improve. Among August new energy pickup truck sales: BYD Company Limited pickup truck overseas sales were 4,300 units, Geely Radar electric pickup trucks 2,202 units, Zhengzhou Nissan 1,058 units, and Changan extended-range pickup trucks 606 units. Other pickup truck enterprises also had new energy vehicles of a certain scale. Along with the start of the domestic new energy pickup truck market and the gradual cultivation of the market, it is expected that Chinese pickup trucks will develop faster in the future to meet domestic and international demand. 2026 August Passenger Vehicle Market Price Segment Tracking In 2026, auto market sales shrank sharply, unit prices rose somewhat, low-end market demand was insufficient, and consumption was passively upgraded. Price changes are mainly affected by structural changes and sales volume changes. The volume-price relationship is inverse: higher prices with lower volume, lower prices with higher volume. In 2025, the average passenger vehicle price was 168,000 yuan, down 16,000 yuan from the 2024 average price. In August 2026, the average passenger vehicle price was 171,000 yuan, up 5,000 yuan from the same period. Among these, conventional fuel vehicle prices continued to rise, with market shrinkage very obvious in the low- and mid-end, while high-end shrinkage was slower, so prices rose from 166,000 yuan in 2021 to 188,000 yuan in 2024. In 2025, with the rapid shrinkage of high-end fuel vehicles, the average price in 2025 fell to 177,000 yuan. The average price of conventional fuel vehicles in August 2026 was 179,000 yuan, and the fuel vehicle market shrank sharply across the board. By contrast, the average price of new energy vehicles has recently gradually declined, from an average price of 184,000 yuan in 2023 to an average price of 180,000 yuan in 2024, and the average price of new energy vehicles in 2025 was 160,000 yuan, a clear price decline. However, in August 2026 it was 166,000 yuan, up 8,000 yuan, with lower volume and higher prices, reflecting structural changes in new energy vehicle consumption, with entry-level consumption suppressed. In 2026, the average price of luxury cars was 330,000 yuan, down 3,000 yuan from 2025; in August 2026, the average price of luxury cars was 330,000 yuan, up 2,000 yuan from the same period. In 2026, the average price of joint venture brands was 172,000 yuan, basically flat versus 2025; in August 2026, the average price was 170,000 yuan, basically flat versus the same period. In 2026, the average price of new forces was 234,000 yuan, down 7,000 yuan from 2025; in August 2026, the average price was 222,000 yuan, down 17,000 yuan from the same period. In 2026, the average price of independent brands was 129,000 yuan, up 7,000 yuan from the same period; in August 2026, the average price of independent brands was 129,000 yuan, up 8,000 yuan from the same period. China's automobile penetration is only 254 vehicles per thousand people, while automobile consumption penetration is the most important trend in the future. The low cost of electrification bringing continuous declines in vehicle prices is a trend. At present, after the vehicle purchase tax exemption policy exits, with the upgrading of technical indicators for new energy vehicle tax exemption, some short-range and high-power-consumption models face pressure to be redesigned. The sharp shrinkage of A00-class electric vehicles in August brought an increase in average prices, raised the threshold for car purchases, and reduced the scale of the purchasable group, putting greater pressure on sales growth in 2026.