In January, the top 15 NEV automakers sold a combined 909,000 units, accounting for 96.2% of total NEV sales. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released the automobile production and sales report for January 2026. Overall, the automotive industry operated steadily in January, with a decline in the passenger vehicle market, continued improvement in the commercial vehicle market, stable performance in the new energy vehicle market, and sustained growth in automobile exports. The report pointed out three main factors leading to the market decline: The adjustment and transition of the purchase tax policy for new energy vehicles; The annual transition period for vehicle purchase subsidy policies in many regions; Some consumer demand was released in advance in 2025. Overall Auto Production & Sales From an overall perspective, automobile production and sales in January reached 2.45 million units and 2.346 million units respectively, with sales showing a year-on-year decrease of 3.2%. Among this, domestic automobile sales amounted to 1.665 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 14.8%. Domestic sales of traditional fuel vehicles were 1.022 million units, down 11.9% year-on-year and 7.9% month-on-month respectively. In contrast, exports continued to grow, with automobile exports reaching 681,000 units in January, a year-on-year increase of 44.9%. Among this, new energy vehicle exports were 302,000 units, doubling year-on-year and increasing by 0.5% month-on-month. Automobile Exports Specifically for the passenger vehicle market, production and sales in January were 2.062 million units and 1.988 million units respectively, down 4.1% and 6.8% year-on-year, and down 28.4% and 30.2% month-on-month respectively. Among this, domestic sales reached 1.399 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 19.5%; export sales reached 589,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 48.9%. Passenger Vehicle Domestic Sales By brand, Chinese brand passenger vehicles accounted for 66.9%, followed by German cars at 13.7% and Japanese cars at 9.2%. In terms of energy type, sales of traditional fuel vehicles from the A0-segment to C-segment all showed varying degrees of decline, with main sales concentrated in the A-segment, totaling 617,000 units. In terms of price, sales were mainly concentrated in the 100,000-150,000 yuan price range. Among new energy passenger vehicles, sales in the A00-segment and A-segment both declined, with main sales concentrated in the B-segment, totaling 281,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 12.5%. In terms of price, sales were mainly concentrated in the 100,000-200,000 yuan price range. Passenger Vehicle Production & Sales Specifically for the new energy vehicle market, production and sales in January were 1.041 million units and 945,000 units respectively, up 2.5% and 0.1% year-on-year respectively. New energy vehicle sales accounted for 40.3% of the total. Among this, new energy vehicle exports in January reached 302,000 units, doubling year-on-year; new energy passenger vehicle exports were 295,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.1 times; battery electric vehicle exports were 202,000 units, doubling year-on-year and increasing by 16.9% month-on-month. Top 15 Automakers in NEV Sales in January Finally, let’s look at the new energy vehicle sales and exports of various automakers in January. Overall, the total sales of the top 15 automakers in new energy vehicle sales were 909,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 0.7%, accounting for 96.2% of total new energy vehicle sales. Among them, BYD saw declines in both month-on-month and year-on-year sales, but still ranked first with sales of 210,000 units, holding a market share of 22.2%. It was followed by Geely Group and Dongfeng Motor, with sales of 152,000 units and 83,000 units respectively. Among new forces automakers, Xiaomi Auto led with sales of 39,000 units in January, ranking 8th overall. Another new forces automaker with monthly sales exceeding 30,000 units was Leapmotor (32,000 units).