Against the backdrop of a sluggish overall passenger vehicle sales in China in January 2026, Geely overtook BYD in both retail sales and wholesale with 210,000 and 270,000 vehicles sold, respectively, nearly 80,000 and 60,000 units more than the second-place. In 2026, Geely will launch one to two models every quarter, with the goal to achieve an annual sales target of 3.45 million vehicles. Ranking AutomakerRetail Sales VolumeYoY Change1Geely210,000-12.6%2FAW-Volkswagen 132,000-3.5%3BYD94,000-53.0%4SAIC-Volkswagen90,000-9.3%5Changan81,000-33.5%6Chery78,000-41.0%7FAW-Toyota65,0008.3%8GAC-Toyota64,0000.3%9HIMA58,00065.5%10BMW Brilliance51,000-3.9%Top 10 automaker retail sales ranking in China in January 2026, compiled by Carnewschina.com HIMA vheicle lineup. Credit: HIMA HIMA, Huawei’s new energy vehicle startup, with retail sales surging 65.5% year-on-year, broke into the top 10 for the first time. On the contrary, BYD’s retail sales plummeted by more than 50% year-on-year, from around 200,000 units in the same period last year to 94,000 units. Overall, retail sales of passenger vehicles in January were 1.544 million units, a 13.9% decrease compared to the same period last year and nearly a third less than the previous month. Ranking AutomakerWholesale Volume YoY Change1 Geely 270,0001.3%2BYD206,000-30.7%3Chery194,000-12%4FAW-Volkswagen128,000-1.7%5SAIC77,00053.6%6GWM75,0009.3%7Tesla China 69,0009.3%8Changan68,000-64.6%9SAIC-Volkswagen68,000-9.0%10GAC-Toyota63,0009.8%Top 10 automaker wholesales ranking in China in January 2026, compiled by Carnewschina.com In the wholesale space, the top 10 automakers sold a total of 1.168 million vehicles, accounting for nearly 60% of the total wholesale volume. Geely came in first with 270,000 vehicles sold, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%. BYD and Chery followed closely with 206,000 and 194,000 vehicles, respectively. These three automakers combined accounted for over 30% of the market share. Additionally, SAIC’s wholesale surged by 53.6% year-on-year, mainly due to MG’s overseas performance. Tesla China wholesaled 69,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%, with exports from its Shanghai Gigafactory remaining the core driver. Source: CPCA, Yiche, HIMA
