China retail August 2022: BYD (+142.6%) continues on stellar run with new record, market up 19.4%

First Top 10 finish for the BYD Dolphin.

Update: Now with Top 70 New Energy models.

Retail sales of t he models included in this study grow by a spectacular 19.4% year-on-year in August to 1,821,011 units. This means the year-to-date volume is now down just -5.4% to 12,390,214. 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. Note imports, pickups and medium to heavy commercials are not included in this dataset, but it sometimes includes a more detailed split by model variant.

VW sales are up 31.9% year-on-year in August.

This month the Top 5 brands all beat the market with even more fantastic gains. Volkswagen (+31.9%) catches up on a particularly weak August 2021 volume (-32.7%) to remain a step above all other manufacturers in China. It is helped by strong performances by the T-Roc (+506.1%), Tayron X (+187.3%), Lamando (+145.4%), Viloran (+110.1%), Sagitar (+93.3%), Passat (+88%), Teramont X (+87.5%), Magotan (+77.6%), CC (+63.9%), Golf (+59.8%). For their part the brand’s new EVs continue to gear up year-on-year but four out of five are down on last month’s volumes. The ID.4 Crozz (+333.7%) is the most dynamic year-on-year ahead of the ID.6 Crozz (+157.6%), ID.4 X (+122.7%) and ID.6 X (+67.1%). The VW ID.3 is still less than one year old.

The BYD Song Plus crosses the 30,000 monthly sales milestone.

Toyota (+32.4%) remains in 2nd place with just under 170,000 sales. The brand is almost solely propelled forward by its recent launches (as only the Camry at +41.1% beats the brand’s growth): the Front Lander, Corolla Cross, Crown Kluger, Sienna, Harrier and Venza, although none of them break their monthly volume record. BYD (+142.6%) continues on its year-long exceptional run with sales up a formidable 142.6% year-on-year to a new all-time record, breaking the 150,000 monthly retail sales barrier for the first time. This keeping in mind that in August 2021 sales were already up 123.5% on the year prior. It is the third month in a row that BYD reaches a new all-time high and the 5th time in the past 6 months it ranks #3 brand at home. The BYD Song Plus passes the 30,000 monthly sales mark for the first time just as the Qin Plus and Dolphin also hit monthly highs.

AITO lodges its best monthly result to date in August…

Below, Honda (+45.3%) and Changan (+35.2%) also outpace the market to close out the Top 5. Nissan (-9.5%) posts a disappointing result yet fares better than Geely (-19.4%) to snap the 7th place year-to-date off the Chinese brand. The rest of the Top 10 all underperform with Audi (+13%), Buick (+11.5%) and Wuling (+4.8%) all posting shy results. Just outside, Mercedes (+56.1%) surges ahead at #11. Tesla (+1171.9%) is up 18 spots on July to #16, the same ranking it holds year-to-date. There are no further outperforming brands in the remainder of the Top 25, indicating a strong trend towards tried and trusted manufacturers. Among smaller carmakers, Geometry (+518.4%), Leap Motor (+117.5%), TANK (+116.1%), Neta (+94.8%) and NIO (+63.2%) make themselves noticed. Among newcomers, Zeekr shoots up to almost 9,000 retail sales, by far its best showing after 11 months in market just as AITO crosses the 7,500 monthly sales milestone for the first time. Voyah (+494.1%) and Hycan (+1886.7%) also stand out further down.

…as does Zeekr.

Looking at the models ranking in isolation, the Nissan Sylphy (-11%) reclaims the top spot for the first time since January despite going against the year-on-year market with a double-digit drop. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (+5.3%) also underperforms and is toppled to #2 yet keeping the lead year-to-date with a slim 3,171 sales margin. The Tesla Model Y (+1979.5%) rallies back up 60 spots on July to #3 and now ranks #5 year-to-date. It is followed by the BYD Song Plus (+185.2%) staying at #4 and the VW Lavida (-12.5%) down two ranks to #5. The BYD Qin Plus (+64.9%) advances two spots to #6, distancing  the Toyota Corolla (+5.7%), VW Sagitar (+93.3%) and BYD Dolphin celebrating one year in market by breaking into the Top 10 for the first time at #9 (previous best #18 last April). The Han is the fourth BYD inside the Top 10 vs. only two VWs. The best-selling recent launches are the BYD Yuan Plus (#23), Changan UNI-V (#33), Changan Lumin (#56), Toyota Front Lander (#57) and Zeekr 001 (#61).

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

One year ago: China retail August 2021: BYD (+123.5%) smiles, VW (-32.7%) cries, sales off -10.9%

Full August 2022 Top 120 all brands, Top 655 all models and Top 70 New Energy models below.