China retail July 2022: BYD breaks volume record again, market up 9.7%

The BYD Song Plus hits an all-time high volume in July…

This article includes a Top 65 New Energy models.

New retail car sales in China are up 9.7% year-on-year in July for the selection of vehicles included in this update to 1,721,481 units, leading to a year-to-date tally down -8.7% to 10,569,203. BSCB is the only non-Chinese medium to cover both wholesales (ex-factory shipments) and retail sales data for China so you can get the most complete picture of the largest new car market in the world. Retail sales tend to give a more authentic view of the market as they roughly correspond to registrations by end-customers. This way, they are more difficult to boost with exports, as is often the case for wholesales data. Note imports, pickups and medium to heavy commercials are not included in this dataset, but it includes a more detailed split by model variant.

…as do the Yuan Plus…

5 of the Top 6 brands outpace the market this month, starting with Volkswagen (+25.2%) widening its gap over #2 Toyota (+18.4%). Volkswagen is helped by outstanding performances from the Tayron X (+347.6%), T-Roc (+240.6%), Passat (+104.6%), Teramont X (+94.6%), Sagitar (+90.2%), Magotan (+86.2%), Lamando (+83.5%), CC (+73.7%), Tiguan (+25.4%), Viloran (+23.7%) and Golf (+22.5%). The ID.3, ID.4 twins and ID.6 twin continue to gear up, and are starting to make a mark, notably the ID.4 Crozz falling just short of 6,500 sales for the month. Toyota remains in 2nd place in the brands ranking thanks to good showings by the Levin GT (+318.5%), Avalon (+66.9%), Yaris L (+33.8%), Highlander (+32.9%) and Wildlander (+24.4%) as well as successful launches by the Corolla Cross, Front Lander and Sienna.

…and Dolphin.

BYD (+145.2%) breaks its all-time volume record for the second month in a row, now approaching 140,000 units, and ranks #3 for the 4th time in the past 5 months. The Song Plus (+147.1%), and the new Yuan Plus and Dolphin all post new all-time highs just as the Qin (+224%), Han (+200%) and Qin Plus (+180.2%) all triple their sales year-on-year. Honda (+14.2%) is relegated to 4th place above Changan (+2.1%) and Wuling (+11.7%) down one to #5. Nissan (-22.9%) endures a disappointing loss, whereas Buick (+28.9%) and Mercedes (+55.8%) show splendid health. Note Geely (-26.4%) in serious trouble this month, ranking #9 vs. #4 over the Full Year 2021 when it was the most popular domestic brand. Haval (-30.1%) is in the same boat. Below, EV start-ups hold a lot of the most impressive year-on-year gains. Xpeng (+50.1%), Neta (+83.3%), Leap Motor (+150.3%), LI (+18.1%) and NIO (+27.7%) all beat the market while newcomer AITO breaks its volume record at over 6,500 sales. Notice also Geometry (+324.6%), TANK (+74.5%), Citroen (+69.1%) and Venucia (+61.7%) in great shape.

The AITO M5 continues to gear up, reaching an all-time high in July.

Looking at the models ranking in isolation, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (+22.8%) reclaims the top spot it holds year-to-date, overtaking the Nissan Sylphy (-24.8%) struggling but staying at #2. Leader last month, the Tesla Model Y (+237.1%) freefalls to #63 as is now the norm for Tesla models weaker at the start of quarters. Below the VW Lavida (-7.3%), the BYD Song Plus (+147.1%) is up two spots on June to #4 and distances the Toyota Corolla (-9.1%) and BYD Han (+200%). BYD places a third nameplate inside the Top 10: the BYD Qin Plus (+180.2%) at #8. The Honda CR-V (+32.5%) and Accord (+122.6%) also shine in the remainder of the Top 10. Notice also the GAC Aion Y (+303.8%) eclipsing  the 10,000 monthly sales barrier for the first time. The BYD Yuan Plus (#14) leads recent launches above the BYD Dolphin (#21), Changan UNI-V (#41) breaking its volume record and the Toyota Corolla Cross (#53) and its twin the Front Lander (#55).

Previous month: China retail June 2022: Toyota, BYD and Tesla break records, Model Y #1, sales up 15.9%

One year ago: China retail July 2021: VW accelerates its fall to -27.9%, BYD, Wuling soar, Voyah lands

Full July 2022 Top 120 All brands and Top 655 all models below.