Chinese car sales shrink 24 per cent in September
The domestic market remains under pressure, while electric models account for a growing share of sales.
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Passenger car sales in China fell by about 24 per cent in September compared with the same month last year. That is according to figures from the China Passenger Car Association, which point to weak consumer spending and a market in which electric cars are gaining ground.
According to the CPCA, about 1.702 million passenger cars were sold to consumers in September. That is 24 per cent less than in September 2025, but 10 per cent more than in August. At wholesale level, manufacturers sold 2.528 million passenger cars, 10 per cent less than a year earlier.
The decline comes at a sensitive moment. September and October are traditionally strong sales months in China, but based on the available figures, the industry association sees no clear improvement in consumer expectations or underlying market conditions. The car sector therefore remains a weak spot in domestic demand.
Electric cars and plug-in hybrids meanwhile account for an ever larger share of the market. The CPCA reported about 1.141 million sales of new energy vehicles in September, 12 per cent less than a year earlier. Despite that decline, their share is about two-thirds of total passenger car sales.
The figures thus show two developments at once. China is selling far fewer cars overall than a year earlier, while the shift towards electric propulsion continues. Manufacturers of combustion engines are therefore under additional pressure, but electric brands are also suffering from price competition, postponed purchases and a high comparison base from 2025.
The industry association cites subsidies, trade-in schemes and new models as support for the market. At the same time, the figures point to the declining effectiveness of stimulus measures. If consumers have already bought a car with the help of subsidies, less immediate demand remains. Higher fuel prices may also curb sales of petrol cars in particular.
For Chinese manufacturers, the domestic decline is an incentive to look more strongly abroad. This could increase competition in the European market, especially for electric cars and plug-in hybrids. For European producers, a weaker Chinese home market offers no simple relief: Chinese brands may export more aggressively when domestic sales disappoint.
The figures are not a complete measure of economic growth. Car sales are, however, an important indicator for consumer spending, industry, suppliers and employment. The coming months will show whether the decline is mainly a temporary effect of the high comparison base from 2025, or the beginning of a longer period in which overcapacity and fierce price competition continue to dominate the sector.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Chinese passenger car sales fell sharply year on year in September.
- New energy vehicles accounted for a large share of sales.
- The sector is facing weak domestic demand and strong price competition.
Left
Arguments The transition to electric mobility should be accelerated through public support, worker protection and standards for affordability and sustainability. A shrinking market should not be resolved by shifting excess capacity onto other countries through cheap exports.
Values Climate policy, job security and fair competition.
Consequences More support could accelerate the transition, but could increase trade tensions and dependence on subsidies.
Centre
Arguments The market should be allowed to reduce inefficient capacity, while governments provide predictable rules and temporary support for consumers. Trading partners should assess competition and state aid on the basis of verifiable data.
Values Stability, predictability and a gradual transition.
Consequences An orderly restructuring could limit price dumping, but could affect factories, jobs and local economies in the short term.
Right
Arguments The decline shows that government direction and subsidies have created an overcrowded market. Manufacturers must compete on their own strength, and countries should protect their own industries from cheap imports when those imports are not produced on equal terms.
Values Market discipline, national economic interests and entrepreneurship.
Consequences Less support could make inefficient companies disappear more quickly, but trade barriers could raise prices and slow global sustainability efforts.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The sales figures and the share of new energy vehicles were checked against CPCA summaries and an official Chinese economic source. Explanations concerning subsidies, consumer confidence and exports are cautiously presented as possible factors, not as a single proven cause.
- confirmed Chinese passenger car sales totalled about 1.702 million in September, 24 per cent below the figure a year earlier. — GMT EIGHT summarises the CPCA publication of 10 October. source
- confirmed New energy vehicle sales totalled about 1.141 million, 12 per cent lower than a year earlier. — The same CPCA summary gives these figures. source
- confirmed The CPCA had earlier forecast about 1.69 million passenger cars for September and a decline of 24.6 per cent. — CnEVPost published the CPCA forecast and marked it as an estimate. source
- confirmed China’s industrial PMI stood at 50.1 in September. — China’s statistics bureau published this figure; the article uses it only as economic context. source
Editor's note
The definitive September figures come from a publication summarising the CPCA figures; the earlier CPCA forecast and the figures for new energy vehicles support the same picture. The causes of the decline cannot be fully established from sales data alone.Sources
- CPCA: National passenger vehicle new energy market retail sales from September 1-30 were 1.141 million units — GMT EIGHT
- CPCA sees China's September NEV retail sales at 1.11 million — CnEVPost
- Purchasing Managers’ Index for September 2026 — National Bureau of Statistics of China
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