February National New Energy Vehicle Retail Sales Declined 32% Year-over-Year

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On March 12, the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference (China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference) released data showing that in February, nationwide retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) totaled 464,000 units, down 32% year-over-year.

According to the data released by the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference, from February 1 to February 28, retail sales of passenger cars nationwide reached 1.034 million units, a decrease of 25.4% year-over-year and 33.1% month-over-month. Since the beginning of this year, cumulative retail sales have reached 2.578 million units, down 18.9% year-over-year. Due to complex market factors, recent years have shown a clear “low at the start, high at the end” pattern in annual sales. Disruptions like the Spring Festival cause significant fluctuations in February retail figures, with the 25.4% year-over-year decline in 2026 representing a moderate dip within historically volatile February growth rates.

The Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference believes that after the NEV purchase tax exemption policy, implemented since September 2014, officially ended in December 2025, the NEV market in 2026 is in a period of tax and subsidy adjustment recovery. Some consumers preemptively enjoyed policy benefits in 2025, leading to a certain “front-loading” effect in January and February of this year. This short-term fluctuation is expected and does not reflect the long-term market trend. Additionally, this year is a major Spring Festival consumption year, with differentiated growth in the auto market. NEV performance remains weak, and more policy support is needed.

Data shows that in February, retail sales of independent brands totaled 630,000 units, down 30% year-over-year and 29% month-over-month. That month, independent brands held a domestic retail market share of 61.2%, down 4.3 percentage points year-over-year. Independent brands have gained significant growth in both the NEV and export markets. Some leading traditional automakers, such as Geely, Changan, and Great Wall Motors, have performed well in transformation and upgrading, with noticeable increases in their market shares.

From the retail perspective, in February, NEVs accounted for 44.9% of the overall domestic passenger vehicle retail penetration rate, down 4 percentage points from the same period last year. Within domestic retail, NEV penetration among independent brands was 64.5%. The penetration rate of NEVs in luxury cars was 32.6%, while mainstream joint venture brands had only 4.5%.

Looking at monthly domestic retail shares of NEVs, in February, independent brands held a 60.3% share, down 12 percentage points year-over-year; mainstream joint venture brands had a 3.1% share, up 1.2 percentage points; new forces accounted for 27.3%, driven by brands like Leap Motor, Li Auto, and NIO, with their market share increasing by 7 percentage points year-over-year; Tesla’s share was 8.2%, up 4.3 points.

The Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference also pointed out that overall NEV passenger vehicle companies performed strongly in February, with narrow-sense plug-in hybrid models from BYD, Geely, Chery, and others continuing to perform well. As autonomous automakers implement multi-pronged strategies in NEV product launches, the market base continues to expand, with 16 manufacturers achieving monthly wholesale NEV sales exceeding 10,000 units.

Additionally, domestic NEV passenger vehicle brands with retail sales exceeding 20,000 units include: BYD (88,697 units), Geely (76,636 units), Tesla China (38,206 units), Changan (28,220 units), Hongmeng Zhixing (28,212 units), Li Auto (26,421 units), NIO (20,750 units), Xiaomi Auto (20,414 units).

Looking ahead to March, the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference states that there are 22 working days this month, one more than March 2025’s 21 days. As industries rapidly resume normal operations after the Spring Festival holiday, month-over-month growth in production and sales is expected to be rapid.

Furthermore, the conference believes that the period after the Spring Festival is a key time for new product launches, with many manufacturers releasing new models in large quantities. Under the influence of national policies to promote consumption, many provinces and cities have introduced relevant measures, and the full resumption of offline events like auto shows will accelerate crowd gathering. However, recent high prices of lithium carbonate, copper, and other materials, along with ongoing “anti-involution” efforts, suggest that manufacturers may not introduce many unexpectedly cost-effective new NEV models, and the potential for a explosive recovery in consumer demand remains limited.