All the on - the - fence customers have placed orders. Some Xiaomi salespeople sold 5 units in a single day. What happened in the auto market in October?

“Previously, we used to scramble for orders for the next year at the end of the year, but now it has advanced to October. There is still a week left in this month, and my performance has already exceeded that of last month.” A Wenjie salesperson in Xi'an, Shaanxi, told Jwview on the 26th.

Recently, many car manufacturers have launched the “purchase tax guarantee” campaign (assuming up to 15,000 yuan in purchase tax for new energy vehicles to be delivered in 2026). A competition to grab orders for 2026 is unfolding in the automobile consumer market.

“The performance in the 'Silver October' is better than that in the 'Golden September'”

Wang Guang (a pseudonym), who sells Xiaomi cars in Nanjing, Jiangsu, posted a WeChat Moment on the evening of the 25th, with the caption “A day to hold my head high! Finally, I've made it!”

On that day, Wang Guang sold five cars, all through online transactions.

“During the National Day holiday, the footfall in our store was quite good, but the order volume was not. Everyone knows that they have to wait until next year to get the Xiaomi car. Customers who are eager to pick up the car and don't want to pay the purchase tax next year won't consider us.” Wang Guang said.

The turning point came on October 24th, when Xiaomi Auto announced a purchase tax guarantee campaign for its models.

“Today, several potential customers contacted me. Some made an appointment for a test drive, and some plan to come to the store tonight to confirm the final information. The performance this weekend should be better than that during the entire National Day holiday.” Wang Guang introduced on the 26th. The biggest change after Xiaomi Auto launched the purchase tax guarantee campaign is that “most customers who were on the fence have placed orders.”

Consumers are looking at cars in a store of an independent new energy brand in Nanjing, Jiangsu. Photo by Gong Chenyuan for Jwview

Li Kai (a pseudonym), a salesperson at a Wenjie store in Xi'an, Shaanxi, also noticed that some customers changed their car - buying ideas due to the purchase tax guarantee campaign.

“After the guarantee policy was announced at the end of September (by Wenjie), the National Day holiday followed. During this holiday, the number of orders in our store was at least 40% more than last year. Customers who were worried about the purchase tax when taking delivery of the car all placed orders during the National Day. After the National Day, the number of orders decreased. However, as the end of the month approaches and the guarantee campaign is about to end, the number of people coming to look at cars has started to increase again. Generally speaking, the performance in the 'Silver October' this year is definitely better than that in the 'Golden September'.” Li Kai said on the 26th.

The “Announcement on Continuing and Optimizing the Policy of Exempting and Reducing the Purchase Tax on New Energy Vehicles” issued in June 2023 clearly states that new energy vehicles purchased between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025, are exempt from vehicle purchase tax. Among them, the exemption amount for each new energy passenger car does not exceed 30,000 yuan. For new energy vehicles purchased between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027, the vehicle purchase tax is halved, and the reduction amount for each new energy passenger car does not exceed 15,000 yuan.

As the policy of halving the purchase tax on new energy vehicles approaches, many car manufacturers have recently launched purchase tax guarantee campaigns. That is, for some popular new cars with a delivery time after 2026, they will provide a time - limited subsidy of up to 15,000 yuan for the purchase tax. Most of these campaigns will end in November.

Consumers are looking at product information of some models eligible for the guarantee campaign. Table made by Gong Chenyuan for Jwview

“Consumers who buy the i6 now can save more than 10,000 yuan compared to next year. When customers place an order, the purchase tax subsidy will be directly deducted from the car price.” A Li Auto salesperson in Beijing told Jwview. Last weekend (October 25th and 26th), the test - drive appointments at his store were fully booked.

In terms of the delivery cycle, most of the new cars eligible for the discount will be delivered in January 2026, and some models will be delivered even later. For example, the above - mentioned Li Auto salesperson said that if you place an order for the Li i6 now, you can pick up the car around the Spring Festival in 2026 (February 2026). Wang Guang said that if you order the Xiaomi YU7 now, you can get the car from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second quarter next year.

“The end of the third quarter this year was a period when many new cars were launched. There were dozens of new cars, and they all go through a production ramp - up process in the initial stage of launch, so there will be cross - year deliveries. A 5% purchase tax will be levied on cars delivered next year. Even if a product shows a delivery time of the end of December this year, some consumers will still be worried. So, car manufacturers launched the purchase tax guarantee campaign to eliminate consumers' concerns.” Lang Xuehong, the deputy secretary - general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said in an interview with Jwview.

Recently, many car manufacturers have said that they are increasing the production capacity of new cars. For example, Hongmeng Zhixing posted on a social platform on October 24th that to accelerate the satisfaction of market demand, the Wenjie M7 factory has started double - shift full - load operation to fully promote the increase in production capacity. It is expected that the production capacity in November 2025 will quickly climb to 20,000 - 30,000 vehicles to shorten the delivery cycle for users.

Analysis suggests more car manufacturers may follow suit

From the perspective of product characteristics, the products that need to be delivered next year are concentrated in the mid - large and large - sized vehicle segments.

“Changes on the supply side and the needs of family users have made consumers favor these segments. For example, the price of models in the mid - large SUV segment is around 300,000 yuan. Previously, this price range was mainly for luxury brand medium - sized SUVs, but now the new energy vehicles at the same price level are of a higher class than fuel - powered cars. Coupled with the performance and configuration meeting users' needs, they will be chosen by more users. In terms of sales volume, these segments have also seen high year - on - year growth this year.” Lang Xuehong analyzed.

The in - depth analysis report of the new energy vehicle market in September released by the Passenger Car Association on October 27th pointed out that the sales volume of new energy vehicles in the mid - large SUV segment increased by 55.3% in the first three quarters, making it the second - highest - growing segment.

“In the next two months, the sales volume of the mid - large and large - sized new energy vehicle segments will continue to grow. After all, the products in these segments are highly competitive, consumers can save on the purchase tax when buying cars, and consumption upgrading will also bring some demand.” Cui Dongshu, the secretary - general of the Passenger Car Association, told Jwview.

Consumers are looking at cars in a store of an independent new energy brand in Nanjing, Jiangsu. Photo by Gong Chenyuan for Jwview

As of the end of October, more car manufacturers have launched purchase tax guarantee discount campaigns. On October 25th, Deepal Auto launched a “cash subsidy plan for purchase tax for cross - year deliveries”, which covers all Deepal models. On October 26th, Chery Automobile released a purchase tax subsidy plan, which covers all models under the five major brands of Chery, Omoda, Exeed, Jetour, and iCAR that meet the technical requirements of new energy vehicles eligible for the purchase tax reduction in 2026. On October 27th, Zeekr announced that two more models were added to its purchase tax guarantee plan.

“The phase - out of relevant policies at the beginning of next year will bring forward the car - buying demand. Car manufacturers will definitely scramble for orders at the end of the policy period. In the future, a large number of car manufacturers will launch preferential activities related to the purchase tax, and the validity period will extend until before the Spring Festival next year, even for some models that do not have a long waiting time for delivery.” Lang Xuehong said.

Regarding the market performance in the fourth quarter of 2025, Lang Xuehong believes that new energy car manufacturers have started to make efforts in the market since October. So, until the end of 2025, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles will steadily increase. Among them, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in October may approach or even reach 60%, and it is expected to remain at the 60% level in November and December. “Previously, it was always 'Golden September, Silver October', and the sales volume in October declined compared with September. But this year, it will be 'Silver September, Golden October'. The performance in October will be better than that in September, and the last two months will maintain a strong sales momentum.” She said.

Data released by the Passenger Car Association shows that from October 1st to 19th, the retail sales volume of new energy vehicles in the Chinese passenger car market was 632,000, a year - on - year increase of 5% and a 2% increase compared with the same period last month. The retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the Chinese passenger car market was 56.1%.

This article is from the WeChat official account “Jwview” (ID: jwview), author: Gong Chenyuan, republished by 36Kr with authorization.