China retail July 2023: BYD leads again, Li Auto (+221.3%), NIO (+82.2%) break records

NIO smashes its all-time volume record in July.

We can share with you today All brands and All models retail sales data for China in July. 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 stable at -0.2% year-on-year to 1,717,503, which leads to a year-to-date volume  meaning the H1 2023 volume is up 3.2% to 10,908,155.

BYD (+43.8%) continues to roar up and lodges yet another month above 200,000 units. The Chinese manufacturer is up 70.9% year-to-date. Notable performers include the Song Pro (+151%), Tang (+74.6%), Qin Plus (+53.9%) and Dolphin (+48.3%) but also the new Seagull (22,443) now by far the best-selling recent launch and inside the monthly Top 10 for the first time. Volkswagen (-4.6%) is distanced once again, despite solid showings by the Talagon (+170%), the ID.3 (+151.1%) smashing its volume record at 9,145, the Polo (+124.9%), Sagitar (+118.3%), Tayron (+56.1%), Magotan (+12.7%) and Lamando (+5.9%). Toyota (-19%) and Honda (-33.3%) both sink while Changan (+9.2%) rounds out the Top 5 with a strong gain.

Below, Geely (+33.2%) and GAC (+30.9%) post stellar upticks, the latter helped by the success of the Aion EV lineup. The rest of the Top 14 is in negative: Wuling (-20.1%), Mercedes (-5.7%), BMW (-3.2%), Audi (-4.5%), Nissan (-31.5%) and Buick (-32.9%) suffer while Haval (-0.1%) matches the market at #14. Li Auto (+221.3%) breaks its all-time volume record for the 4th time in a row and soars to a record 16th place overall, distancing Tesla (+262.6%). Hongqi (+49.5%) lodges its largest monthly tally this year, NIO (+82.2%) smashes its all-time high at 18,736 vs. a previous best of 15,050 in December 2022 and is up to a record #21, equalling Hyundai and distancing such established brands as Chevrolet (#23), Ford (#27) and Volvo (#29).

Looking at the models ranking in separation, BYD places two models in the Top 2 with the Qin Plus (+53.9%) up one spot on June to #1 and the Song Plus (-4.5%) up three to #2. The Nissan Sylphy (-27.5%) sinks but still manages to rank #3 ahead of the VW Sagitar (+118.3%) and Tesla Model Y (+201.4%). The VW Lavida (-17.9%) struggles but gains two ranks on last month to #6. The next big thing, the BYD Seagull, is up 16 spots on June to break into the Top 10 for the first time at #7. Incredibly, BYD fills all remaining steps in the Top 10, making it 6 models among the 10 best-sellers: the Yuan Plus (+26%), Dolphin (+48.3%) and Han (-16.5%) are in tow. 

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

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

Full July 2023 Top 115 All brands and Top 677 All models below.