According to the latest retail sales data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the narrow-definition passenger car market in September recorded retail sales of 2.018 million units, a year-on-year increase of 5.0% and a month-on-month growth of 5.0%. Cumulative sales from January to September reached 15.233 million units, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%.
Specifically, in September, 26 car models had wholesale sales exceeding 20,000 units, including BYD Song (62,840), Model Y (53,249), BYD Qin (45,072), BYD Seagull (40,092), BYD Dolphin (32,927), BYD Yuan (32,856), Sagitar (30,661), Lavida (29,895), Haval H6 (27,824), AIWAYS U5 (27,496), Sylphy (27,198), Boyue (24,791), Changan CS75 (24,560), Tiguan (23,486), Camry (23,340), CR-V (22,962), BYD Han (22,794), Corolla (22,628), Civic (22,584), Wuling Mini EV (22,006), AIWAYS U6 (21,546), Emgrand (20,874), Ruihu 8 (20,847), Model 3 (20,824), Passat (20,114), and Encore (20,035). Notably, new energy vehicles ranked among the top six in overall passenger car sales, highlighting their significant advantage.
In September, Chinese brands retailed 1.07 million units, a year-on-year increase of 20% and a month-on-month growth of 7.9%. The domestic retail share for Chinese brands in September 2023 stood at 53.4%, up 6.4 percentage points year-on-year. The cumulative share for the year was 51%, up 4.9 percentage points from the same period last year.
Mainstream foreign brands sold 670,000 units in September, a year-on-year decrease of 12% but a month-on-month growth of 4%. German brands accounted for 20.2% of retail sales, down 0.9 percentage points year-on-year. Japanese brands had a 16.6% share, down 1.1 percentage points. American brands reached a market share of 7.3%, down 3.3 percentage points year-on-year.
Luxury car sales in September were 270,000 units, down 7% year-on-year and 4% month-on-month. The luxury car shortage, influenced by last year's chip supply shortage, has gradually improved, stabilizing the luxury car market trend.
New energy passenger cars produced in September reached 798,000 units, a year-on-year growth of 10.7% and a month-on-month increase of 1.2%. Cumulative production this year stands at 5.9 million units, a year-on-year growth of 31.8%. Wholesale sales in September were 829,000 units, up 23.0% year-on-year and 4.2% month-on-month. Cumulative wholesale sales for the year reached 5.904 million units, a year-on-year increase of 36.0%. Retail sales for new energy vehicles in September were 746,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 22.1% and a month-on-month growth of 4.2%. Cumulative retail sales this year reached 5.188 million units, up 33.8% year-on-year.
The penetration rate of new energy vehicles in domestic retail sales was 36.9% in September, up 5.1 percentage points from 31.8% in the same period last year. In September, the penetration rate for Chinese brand new energy vehicles was 59.4%; for luxury cars, it was 24.0%; and for mainstream foreign brands, it was only 6.2%.
From the automakers' perspective, new energy passenger car businesses performed well in September. BYD's pure electric and plug-in hybrid dual-drive solidified its leading position among domestic new energy brands. Traditional automakers, represented by Changan, SAIC, GAC, and Geely, showed resilience in the new energy segment. Regarding the new force of car manufacturers, their retail share in September was 14%, down 1.3 percentage points year-on-year. However, startups like NIO and Leap Motor maintained relatively strong sales performance both year-on-year and month-on-month.
