The China Automobile Dealers Association released its May 2026 Vehicle Residual Value Report, highlighting a continued recovery in the country’s used-car market. Online used-car listings reached 775,416 units in May, posting a modest month-on-month increase. The market extended the rebound seen over the previous two months. Trend in Online Vehicle Source Volume The association attributed the rise to stronger consumer demand during the Labor Day holiday period, continued trade-in subsidy programs, plus the gradual delivery of previously accumulated new-car orders. Those factors lifted replacement demand, pushing more used vehicles into circulation. Across vehicle segments, only subcompact cars and subcompact SUVs posted month-on-month gains in residual value. All other categories recorded declines. Large SUVs remained the strongest-performing segment with a residual value of 56.5%, despite a 1.9 percentage-point decline from April. MPVs followed at 54.7%, down 1.6 percentage points. Value Retention Rates by Vehicle Segment More notably, subcompact cars posted a residual value of 51.4%, while subcompact SUVs reached 51.3%. Both outperformed large sedans (49.9%), compact SUVs (50.2%), and midsize SUVs (49.7%). The trend likely reflects growing demand for affordable daily transportation. Higher fuel costs, lower purchase prices, and stronger operating economics have helped smaller vehicles buck the broader market decline. Luxury brands largely faced downward pressure. Infiniti was the only marque to post a month-on-month increase. Porsche retained the top position among luxury brands with a three-year residual value of 60.5%, despite a slight decline. Tesla ranked second at 56.5%, edging past Lexus (56.3%). Both brands recorded modest decreases from April. Germany’s traditional luxury trio also weakened. Mercedes-Benz fell from 56.7% to 54.8%; BMW dropped from 51.4% to 48.2%; Audi declined from 49.8% to 46.6%. Luxury Brand Value Retention Rates Among joint-venture brands, the market showed clear divergence. Japanese automakers continued to dominate the top three positions. Honda ranked first with a residual value of 55.3%, followed by Toyota at 54.1% and Mazda at 53.8%. However, all three brands posted declines from April, falling 2.4, 2.9, and 0.8 percentage points respectively. Unlike April, when U.S. and Korean brands staged a broader rebound, Hyundai was the only brand in those groups to improve in May. Its residual value rose from 50.7% to 51.1%. Among Chinese domestic brands, GAC Trumpchi and Tank remained the leaders, posting three-year residual values of 59.6% and 59.4% respectively. Chinese Domestic Brands Retention Rates New-energy vehicle brands showed relatively limited volatility. Denza rose to 51.2%; BYD climbed to 49.1%; Nio increased to 47.4%. By contrast, HIMA fell to 46.1%; Zeekr slipped to 46.0%; Leapmotor eased to 45.4%. The relatively narrow fluctuations suggest growing consumer acceptance of used Chinese new-energy vehicles. Chinese EV models continued to dominate multiple segment rankings. In the premium plug-in hybrid SUV category priced above RMB 500K ($72,500), the Aito M9 ranked first with an 80.5% residual value. The Tank 700 New Energy followed at 75.3%, ahead of the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid (71.8%). In the large battery-electric SUV segment, the BYD Tang L led with a one-year residual value of 73.5%. The Leapmotor C16 ranked second at 71.1%; the XPeng G9 followed at 69.9%. Among new-energy brands, Tank topped the rankings with a residual value of 57.8%. Tesla placed second at 56.5%; Porsche ranked third at 53.7%. NEV Brand Value Retention For one-year-old battery-electric vehicles, the Li Auto MEGA led with an 80.1% residual value. The Zeekr 009 ranked second at 77.8%; the Geely Xingyuan followed at 77.1%. In the three-year-old battery-electric vehicle category, Tesla swept the top three positions with the Model X, Model 3, and Model Y. Among plug-in hybrids, the one-year-old rankings were led by the Aito M8 at 83.9%, followed by the Tank 400 New Energy at 82.4% and the Buick GL8 Plug-In Hybrid at 82.3%. For three-year-old plug-in hybrids, the Aito M7 ranked first with a residual value of 66.6%. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Plug-In Hybrid placed second at 60.1%; the GAC Trumpchi E9 ranked third at 58.6%.
+20 others
