China retail June 2023: BYD (+69.5%), Li Auto (+149.5%) stand out

LI Auto breaks its volume record for the third month in a row.

We can share with you today All brands and All models retail sales data for China in June. 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 picture of the market as they roughly correspond to registrations by end-customers and are more difficult to artificially boost with exports which can sometimes be the case for wholesales data. Sales for the selection of vehicles included in this report are up a meagre 1.5% year-on-year to 1,901,852, meaning the H1 2023 volume is up 3.9% to 9,190,652.

BYD (+69.5%) confirms it is the new favourite brand of Chinese car buyers, lodging another stellar year-on-year uptick and ending the month with a 26,000-unit advantage over #2 Volkswagen (-5.6%). Most BYD models are up, with the Dolphin (+334.9%), Song Pro (+286.3%), Tang (+116.3%) and Qin Plus (+74.6%) the most dynamic. The newly launched Seagull is up to 16,800 sales for the month. At Volkswagen it’s a weak month with solid performances from the Talagon (+187.3%), Tacqua (+129.4%), T-Cross (+102.2%), Polo (+90.6%), Sagitar (+77.3%), Phideon (+53.2%), Passat (+27.7%) and Tiguan (+25.5%) unable to tilt the overall balance into positive territory. Toyota (-13%) skids on a record year-ago volume, with the Front Lander (+65.4%), Corolla Cross (+56.7%), RAV4 (+9.2%) and Venza (+7.2%) in positive. The bZ3 (2,895) and bZ4X (2,026) are not making a significant impact on the brand’s sales just yet.

In 4th place, Honda (-14.4%) disappoints but the next three brands impress: Changan is up 11.7%, Geely up 18.2% and GAC up 49.6%. Tesla (-5.5%) endures a rare drop at #8 while Audi (-4.8%) and Nissan (-23.4%) round out the Top 10 in paltry fashion. Below, Haval (+15.1%) bounces back and Li Auto (+149.5%) smashes its volume record for the third consecutive month, improving by over 4,000 units on last month to 32,523. Denza also reaches an all-time high at 10,478 units. COS (+33.3%), Leap Motor (+24.8%), Jetour (+39.8%) and Beijing (+42.5%) also shine. Among other NEV brands, NIO drops -8.1%, Neta is down -23.3%, Zeekr up 134.1%, Xpeng down -42.2% and Ora off -13.8%.

Over in the models charts, the Tesla Model Y (-2.5%) easily wins with a 13,500+ advantage over the #2, cementing its YTD lead. The BYD Qin Plus (+74.6%) falls one spot on May to #2 as does the Nissan Sylphy (-18.4%) at #3. The VW Sagitar (+77.3%) is up four ranks to #4 ahead of three BYDs: the Song Plus (+0.9%), Dolphin (+334.9%) and Han (-3.5%). There is one more BYD in the Top 10: the Yuan Plus (+56.3%) while the Song Pro (+286.3%) shoots up 18 spots on last month to #13, crossing the 20,000 monthly unit milestone for the first time. At #16, the Honda Integra (+147.9%) smashes its volume record from 8,347 last month to 19,195. The GAC Aion Y (17,934) and Li Auto L7 (12,811) also reach new heights. The BYD Seagull is up 37 ranks on May to #23, becoming by far the best-selling recent launch.

Previous month: China retail May 2023: BYD back in charge, GAC also impresses

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

Full June 2023 Top 117 All brands and Top 701 All models below.