Chinese Car Market Faces Major Decline: October Sales Drop by 26%
Hybrids and electric vehicles seem to be holding up, but they are not without their issues.
In October 2026, passenger car sales in China sharply declined. According to the China Passenger Car Association, from October 1 to 25, dealers sold 1.145 million vehicles, a 26% decrease compared to the same period last year.
The share of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles reached 65.7%. However, this segment is also struggling, with electric vehicle sales in China dropping for the tenth consecutive month.
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Since the beginning of 2026, Chinese car buyers have purchased 14.479 million passenger cars, which is 22% less than last year's figures. Wholesale shipments for the first 25 days of October fell by 22% to 1.384 million vehicles.
Additionally, since the start of the year, manufacturers have shipped 21.121 million vehicles to dealers, a 7% decrease compared to the previous year. The gap between wholesale and retail sales indicates weak consumer demand: cars are arriving at dealerships faster than they are being sold.
Notably, in October, Chinese manufacturers drastically reduced the production of vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines. In the first four weeks of October, production of such vehicles fell by 52% to 386,000 units. Hybrid production reached 397,000 vehicles, down 21% from last year but up 20% compared to September.
