China’s car sales slump as manufacturers look overseas
July 9, 2026
Retail sales of passenger vehicles in China fell 20.2% year-on-year in the first half of 2026 to 8.7 million units, reports Caixin. This comes as domestic demand weakened across all sectors.
Domestic retail sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) dropped 14% in the first six months to 4.7 million units, while sales of traditional gasoline cars fell 26.4% to 4 million, the China Passenger Car Association said July 8. The downturn deepened in June, when overall retail sales slid 23.2% from a year earlier to 1.6 million vehicles.
The contraction underscores the mounting pressure on Chinese automakers at home and is accelerating their push overseas, where surging exports are reshaping the global auto industry. Overseas shipments of Chinese passenger vehicles rose more than 70% in the first half to 4.3 million units. In June, exports jumped 82.3% year-on-year to 877,000 vehicles, led by a 152.7% increase in NEV exports.