In the first quarter, the domestic sales volume of passenger cars decreased by more than 20% year-on-year, and SAIC became the sales champion.

On April 10th, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released the latest production and sales data of the automobile industry. In the first quarter of this year, the production and sales of automobiles reached 7.039 million and 7.048 million units respectively, a year-on-year decrease of 6.9% and 5.6% respectively. Among them, the domestic sales of automobiles were 4.823 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 20.3%. During the same period, the domestic sales of passenger cars were 4.013 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 23.4%.

Regarding the reasons for the decline in the sales volume of the passenger car market in the first quarter, the Passenger Car Association believes that due to the complex influence of market factors and fiscal and tax policy adjustments, the annual sales volume in recent years has shown a significant characteristic of "low at the beginning and high at the end". Affected by factors such as the late Spring Festival, the decline in domestic retail sales in the first quarter of 2026 is the result of the superposition of the adaptation period of fiscal and tax policies and the market recovery period before and after the Spring Festival.

In March, the domestic automobile market saw a significant rebound in sales volume month-on-month, gradually getting out of the influence of the Spring Festival off-season. The production and sales of automobiles reached 2.917 million and 2.899 million units respectively, a month-on-month increase of 74.4% and 60.6% respectively; the domestic sales of automobiles reached 2.024 million units, a month-on-month increase of 78.6%.

In addition, automobile exports maintained high growth. In the first quarter of this year, 2.226 million automobiles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 56.7%. Both new energy vehicles and traditional fuel vehicles achieved positive export growth. In the first quarter of this year, 954,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 120%; 1.271 million traditional fuel vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 29.9%.

From the perspective of automobile enterprises, the competition for the sales ranking of leading automobile enterprises was fierce in the first quarter of this year. According to the data officially disclosed by automobile enterprises, SAIC Group achieved a cumulative wholesale volume of 973,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 3%. BYD, the sales champion in the first quarter of last year, sold 1 million automobiles at one time, a year-on-year increase of 59.81%. However, in the first quarter of this year, Geely Automobile's cumulative sales volume was 709,358 units, while BYD's was 700,463 units. The former sold 8,895 more units than the latter.

1

Exports Become the Biggest Attraction

According to the data disclosed by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the domestic sales volume of automobiles in the first quarter of this year was 4.823 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 20.3%. During the same period, the domestic sales volume of passenger cars was 4.013 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 23.4%.

Among them, the decline in the sales volume of new energy vehicles was higher than the overall market. In the first quarter of this year, the domestic sales volume of new energy vehicles was 2.006 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 23.8%. Among them, the domestic sales volume of new energy passenger cars was 1.822 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 26.7%.

Source: China Association of Automobile Manufacturers

Cui Dongshu, the secretary-general of the Passenger Car Association, pointed out that after the new energy vehicle purchase tax exemption policy implemented since September 2014 officially ended at the end of December 2025, the new energy vehicle market in 2026 was in the adjustment period of tax subsidies. In the first quarter of this year, there were only 18 new models in the automobile market, significantly lower than 33 in the first quarter of 2024 and 28 in the first quarter of 2025. The incremental contribution of new models decreased, and in the current situation of full market competition, it gradually transitioned to annual model updates.

Although the overall automobile market and new energy vehicles faced pressure on growth in the first quarter, in March, the production and sales of automobiles rebounded significantly month-on-month, with a slight year-on-year decrease but an improvement compared with the previous two months. In March, the production and sales of automobiles reached 2.917 million and 2.899 million units respectively, a month-on-month increase of 74.4% and 60.6% respectively.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers pointed out that the domestic market was affected by factors such as policy changes, pre - release of demand, and high base in the same period last year, showing relatively sluggish performance with a double - digit year-on-year decline. Automobile exports grew rapidly. Despite facing external uncertainties, they still showed strong resilience, and the competitiveness of Chinese brands continued to improve.

Automobile exports became the biggest attraction in the automobile market this quarter. In the first quarter of this year, 2.226 million automobiles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 56.7%; 1.921 million passenger cars were exported, a year-on-year increase of 63%.

The export growth rate of new energy vehicles was remarkable. From January to March, 954,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 120%. Among them, 935,000 new energy passenger cars were exported, a year-on-year increase of 120%.

In addition, from January to March, 1.271 million traditional fuel vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 29.9%.

Cui Dongshu believes that in March, the export volumes of fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles of passenger car manufacturers both reached new highs in previous months, fully indicating that the competitiveness of China's automobile industry in the global market is constantly improving and overseas demand remains strong.

From January to March, among the top ten enterprises in vehicle exports, Chery exported more than 390,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 54%, accounting for 17.6% of the total export volume. BYD ranked second in export sales, with an export volume of 320,000 units in the first quarter.

2

Fierce Competition Among Leading Automobile Enterprises

While the overall automobile market recovered in March, many automobile enterprises officially disclosed their sales volume in March and achieved positive sales growth. The competition for the ranking among the leading enterprises became more intense.

According to SAIC Group's official data, it sold 376,000 vehicles in March, and achieved a cumulative wholesale volume of 973,000 units from January to March, a year-on-year increase of 3%. In the first quarter, SAIC Group's self - owned brand sales reached 657,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%; 270,000 new energy vehicles were sold.

The competition between self - owned brands BYD and Geely Automobile was very exciting. In January and February this year, Geely Automobile's sales volume of 270,000 and 206,000 units respectively exceeded BYD's (210,000 units in January and 190,000 units in February) for two consecutive months. In March, BYD's sales volume returned to over 300,000 units, while Geely Automobile's sales volume was 233,000 units.

From the perspective of the first quarter, Geely Automobile sold 8,895 more units than BYD. Previously, Gui Shengyue, the CEO and executive director of Geely Automobile, said at Geely Automobile's 2025 interim results meeting: "I believe the gap between us and the first place will become smaller and smaller, and we may even overtake them."

In March, Changan Automobile also became a dark horse among self - owned brands. Its sales volume in that month exceeded 260,000 units, a month-on-month increase of 78%. Among them, the sales volume of new energy vehicles reached 89,600 units, a month-on-month increase of 112%. In the first quarter, Changan Automobile's cumulative sales volume was 558,000 units.

In the first quarter, Chery Group's sales volume also ranked among the top five, with a cumulative sales volume of 602,000 vehicles in the first quarter. Among them, the sales volume of new energy vehicles was 161,000 units.

The Passenger Car Association pointed out that in March, the retail sales of self - owned brands were 1.02 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 16% and a month-on-month increase of 61%. The domestic retail share of self - owned brands in that month was 61.8%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.8 percentage points. Self - owned brands were generally stable in the new energy market and the export market. Some leading traditional automobile enterprises showed excellent performance in transformation and upgrading, and the brand shares of traditional automobile enterprises such as Geely Automobile and Changan Automobile increased significantly.

Looking forward to the future market, the Passenger Car Association believes that 2026 is the starting period for the gradual withdrawal of new energy vehicle support policies, and the growth pressure in the first quarter has been reflected. However, driven by the national consumption - promotion policies and corresponding consumption - promotion policies in many provinces and cities, offline activities at auto shows will fully enliven the market atmosphere and accelerate the gathering of popularity.

"Since self - owned automobile enterprises account for more than 70% of the new energy vehicle sales volume in the domestic market, the export of new energy vehicles will be further accelerated, and the differentiation in the automobile market will be further intensified. Most automobile enterprises used pre - sale activities in the first quarter to warm up for the new product releases at the Beijing Auto Show. This year's Beijing Auto Show is not only a period for the concentrated display of new industry technologies and new enterprise products but also a grand event in the automobile industry to showcase new brand images, which will surely attract wide attention from society. With the boom of private car travel during the 'May Day' holiday with free highway tolls, the increasing attention to the automobile market at the Beijing Auto Show and the early release of new cars, the consumer - upgrading car - buying boom in the automobile market in April will still have a good trend." The Passenger Car Association said.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Times Finance APP" (ID: tf - app), written by He Qing and Zhang Zhao, edited by Zhang Ze, and published by 36Kr with authorization.