In January 2026, national passenger vehicle manufacturer NEV wholesale sales are estimated at 900,000 units, up 1% YoY. The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) has released the January 2026 new energy passenger vehicle wholesale sales report. The January 2026 auto market entered a recovery period following the year-start withdrawal of NEV policies, with some consumers advancing their purchases to December 2025 to capitalize on policy benefits, resulting in significant demand overhang effects in January. The report notes that unlike the 54% decline in January 2020 when NEV subsidies ended, or the 8% drop in January 2023 when subsidies were scaled back, national NEV wholesale sales from manufacturers achieved a positive growth “good start” this January. In this month’s manufacturer wholesale sales rankings, the top three were BYD Auto (205,518 units), Geely Auto (124,252 units), and Tesla China (69,129 units). Based on preliminary monthly CPCA data: January 2026 national passenger vehicle manufacturer NEV wholesale sales are estimated at 900,000 units, up 1% year-on-year. January 2026 new energy passenger vehicle wholesale sales Among Chinese automakers, Tesla China’s performance was particularly notable. Preliminary statistics show that Tesla China’s wholesale sales reached 69,129 units in January. Compared to the sales of 63,238 units in January 2025, this represents a year-on-year increase of approximately 9.3%. However, compared to the 97,171 units in December last year, it marks a decrease of 28.9%. Despite this, its ranking improved from fourth place to third. Changan Auto, which previously held the third position, fell to ninth place. The ranking improvement was attributed to the release of Tesla’s promotional policy competitiveness. On January 6, Tesla became the first to launch a “7-year ultra-low interest” auto financing program, with annual rates as low as 0.5%. Taking Model 3 as an example, the down payment starts at 79,900 yuan with monthly payments as low as 1,918 yuan. Additionally, Tesla offered users a 5-year zero-interest option, further lowering the purchase barrier. The limited-time January purchase incentives not only brought a new wave of buying to Tesla but also prompted more automakers to follow suit with “7-year low-interest” programs, including Xiaomi Auto, Li Auto, XPeng, and NIO.