China wholesales July 2022: Market up 29.7%, BYD (+177.7%) and Wuling Hongguang Mini EV break records

BYD sales are up 177% year-on-year in July.

According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the Chinese new wholesales market soars 29.7% year-on-year to 2,420,000 units, a new record for the month. Sales continue to be propped up by a series of incentives by the Chinese government. Year-to-date, the market now edges down -2% to 14,477,000 units. Passenger Vehicles surge 40% year-on-year to 2,174,000 units and 8.3% year-to-date to 12,529,000 wholesales. In contrast, Commercial Vehicles sink -21.5% to 246,000 for the month and -39.3% to 1,948,000 year-to-date.

Chinese brands hold 49.6% of the Passenger Car market for July vs. 46.2% a year ago and 35.3% in July 2020. 593,000 New Energy Vehicles were sold in July, up 118.8% year-on-year. This includes 457,000 BEV (+110%) and 135,000 PHEV (+170%). Year-to-date, the volume is up 116.1% to 3,194,000 wholesales, including 2.52 million BEV (+100%) and 674,000 PGEV (+170%). Export volumes reach a new all-time monthly record eclipsing last month’s all time best at 290,000 units including 242,000 Passenger Cars, up 73.1% on July 2021. 54,000 exports are New Energy Vehicles, up 37.6% year-on-year. Year-to-date, exports are up 50.6% to 1,509,000 units.

The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV breaks its volume record in July.

Coming from a particularly low year-ago base, Volkswagen (+109.5%) races ahead to top the brands ranking in July. Many of its models post explosive growth, such as the T-Roc (+1191.7%), Lamando (+1159.3%), Bora (+724.1%), Viloran (+671.7%), ID.4 Crozz (+415.6%), Tharu (+410%), ID.6 Crozz (+374.2%), Tiguan L (+238.5%), Passat (+186.2%), Magotan (+121.8%) and CC (+120.5%). The event of the month in BYD (+177.7%) once again breaking its all-time volume record and advancing to an all-time high 2nd place overall. It is the third month in a row that BYD posts record wholesales, lifting its best from just under 114,000 units to over 158,000. The brand’s outstanding run seems unstoppable at the moment, with the Song Plus (38,697), Qin Plus (30,093), Han (25,849), Dolphin (21,005), Yuan Plus (19,719) and Destroyer 05 (7,548) all reaching all time highs. 

Honda (+51.4%) stays in third place with a very impressive year-on-year gain, lifted by the Avancier (+825.9%), Accord (+137.3%), Elysion (+111.7%), Civic (+114.4%), XR-V (+84.2%), CR-V (+69.1%), Integra (8,475 units) and Inspire (7,130 sales). At #4, Toyota (-2.9%) endures the only year-on-year drop in the Top 8, despite great showings by the Yaris L (+39.6%), Vios FS (+14.1%) and Highlander (+12.4%) as well as splendid launches by the Corolla Cross reaching the symbolic 10,000 monthly sales milestone, its twin the Front Lander (9,061), Harrier (all-time high 6,650) and Sienna (6,109). Below, Changan (+41.6%), Chery (+66.4%) and Wuling (+67.6%) are all in great shape to close the Top 7. Nissan (+1.9%) and Geely (-0.3%) markedly underperform whereas Mercedes (+96.7%) almost doubles its sales year-on-year to reclaim a spot in the Top 10.

The BYD Han is at an all-time high volume this month.

Below, notice MG (+98%), Baojun (+89.8%) bouncing back up, Volvo (+63.3%), Chevrolet (+51.8%), Dongfeng (+38.7%), Cadillac (+32.1%) and Roewe (+32%) all impressive in the remainder of the Top 30. EV start-ups continue to shine, with Neta (+133.5%) reaching a new all-time high volume at 14,037 units, Leap Motor (+173.5%) doing the same at 12,044, while Xpeng (+43.3%) and Geometry (+460.7%) also very strong. NIO (+26.7%) and LI (+21.3%) however can’t keep up with the market growth. Zeekr scores a new record volume just above 5,000 wholesales. Notice also Maple (+226.9%), TANK (+128%), Bestune (+81.7%), Citroen (+71.4%), Cowin (+54.5%) and Venucia (+53.8%) also scoring strong results. We welcome EV premium brand IM at #75.

Over in the models ranking, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (+110.4%) reclaims the top spot and breaks its volume record in the process at 56,605 wholesales. The Nissan Sylphy (+17.1%) stays in 2nd place but is over 13,000 sales below. The Sylphy holds onto the YTD top spot for 8,000 units. The VW Lavida (+74%) is back up three spots on June to land on the third step of the podium, distancing a record-breaking BYD Song Plus (+168.3%), #1 SUV in the country for the first time. The BYD Qin Plus (+79.6%) follows ahead of the VW Bora (+724.1%). The Haval H6 (+7.3%) is back up six spots on last month to #7, a position it also holds YTD, but trails the market significantly. The Honda CR-V (+69.1%), BYD Han (+203.3%) and Toyota Corolla (-25.4%) round out the Top 10. The BYD Dolphin (#16) is the best-selling recent launch above the BYD Yuan Plus (#20), Changan UNI-V (#32) breaking its volume record, Toyota Corolla Cross (#67), Front Lander (#72) and Honda Integra (#77).

Previous post: China wholesales First Half 2022: Sales down -6.6%, Nissan Sylphy resists Wuling Hongguang Mini EV

Previous month: China wholesales June 2022: Market bounces back up 23.8% thanks to lifted lockdowns, incentives

One year ago: China July 2021: Toyota repeats at #1 above Volkswagen, sales off -11.9%

Full July 2022 Top 96 all brands and Top 440 all models below.