China retail February 2024: Chery (+43.1%), Geely (+18.2%) defy market down -16.3%

Chery Arrizo 8 sales are up 269.9% year-on-year in February.

Retail sales for the selection of vehicles included in this update are off -16.3% year-on-year in February to 1,051,694, as the Lunar New Year holiday fell in February this year. The year-to-date tally remains up by a stunning 26.8% to 3,164,641. 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 to end-customers and are more difficult to artificially boost with exports which can sometimes be the case for wholesales data.

For the third month in a row, Volkswagen (-18.3%) outsells the star of the past year BYD (-24.4%) to the brands top spot. Surging VW models include the ID.3 (+377.8%) yet still remaining at low levels, the ID.4 X (+77.8%), ID.4 Crozz (+77%), CC (+38.9%), Teramont X (+20.5%), Tayron (+16.7%), Sagitar (+15.8%) and Tiguan (+13.5%). As for BYD, for once a lot of the brand’s models fall even faster than the market. The e2 (+1763.6%) off a very low base, the Destroyer 05 (+122%), e6 (+108.9%) and Qin Plus (+15.8%) are the only ones in positive. Newcomers the Seagull, Song L and Yuan Pro are more muted than usual. Toyota (-39.2%) implodes in third place, with the Corolla Cross (+30.2%) and its twin the Front Lander (+24.2%) the only models smiling. The bZ4X (-84.7%) is down to just 138 sales.

Geely (+18.2%) climbs one spot on January to #4, its highest ranking since January 2022, and delivers the only year-on-year gain in the Top 7.  This is even despite the removal of the Galaxy lineup, now a separate brand. Wuling (-26.1%) is up three ranks on last month to #5 with Changan (-11.7%) resisting well but Honda (-43.1%) cratering. Audi (+0.03%) is stable at #8 while Chery (+43.1%) signs the largest gain in the Top 16. Haval (-1.6%), Nissan (-6.9%) and Tesla (-8.4%) resist relatively well below. Further down, we do have spectacular gainers, such as AITO (+539.4%) euphoric once again, Jetour (+172.2%), Lynk & Co (+30.9%), Li Auto (+24.6%) and Hongqi (+22.1%). 

Looking at the models ranking in isolation, the BYD Qin Plus (+15.8%) rallies back up seven spots on January to score its first monthly win since last July. The Tesla Model Y (-8.6%) is up four to #2 but ranks #4 year-to-date vs. #1 over the Full Year 2023. The Nissan Sylphy (-6.6%) drops to #3 and snaps the YTD pole position, dislodging the VW Lavida (-41.5%) down to #5. As it is also the case in the wholesales charts, the AITO M7 (+1425.2%) triumphs at #4. The most popular recent launch is the BYD Seagull at #6 vs. #10 in January, followed by the Wuling Bingo (#22) and Li Auto L7 (#24). The VW Sagitar (+15.8%) and Haval H6 (+3.5%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10. #1 a year ago, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (-58.1%) freefalls to #10, yet this is 20 spots better than its January ranking.

Previous month: China retail January 2024: VW and Lavida start the year at #1, market up 68.1%

One year ago: China February 2023: BYD and GAC Aion stand out in market up 11.1%

Full February 2024 Top 116 All brands and Top 645 All models below.