China retail October 2024: Sales up 23.5%, Wuling Hongguang Mini EV back up to #2

Wuling Hongguang Mini EV sales are up 118.9% in October.

The selection of vehicles included in this update total 2,294,690 retail sales, up a splendid 23.5% year-on-year. The year-to-date tally amounts to 17,367,302, up 5.4% on the year prior. 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 sometimes 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.

BYD surges 83.6% year-on-year (the largest gain in the Top 18) to continue on its insolent success trajectory. BYD sold 416,162 units in October, a 5th consecutive all-time volume high. Keep in mind the brand’s record was 262,958 last June and it only crossed the 300,000 monthly sales mark for the first time in August. Helping the brand’s fortune are the Seagull (+46.5%) and Han (+61.5%) both marking new volume records as do the recently launched Seal 06, Song L and Yuan Pro. The Song Plus (+38.8%), Qin Plus (+26.2%) and new Qin L all hover around 40,000 units. In 2nd place with less than half the sales is Volkswagen (+8.4%), yet lodging a second consecutive year-on-year gain. The German manufacturer’s volumes are pushed up by the Tayron (+99%), Tharu (+83.3%), ID.4 X (+47%), Passat (+27.8%), Magotan (+20.7%), Teramont (+12.6%), Lavida (+11.2%) and Tavendor (+10.2%).

In third position, Toyota (+1%) is also up for the second straight month, but just. Wuling soars 59.1% to reach what is believed to be a new monthly volume record at 121,213 (previous best 115,748 in December 2017). This is due to one model in particular as we’ll see further down. Geely (+17.4%), at its highest for the year, completes a Top 5 unchanged on September. Chery (+54.5%) and Li Auto (+25.2%) both outpace the market, with Li Auto posting its 2nd ever Top 10 finish alongside last July at #10. A raft of manufacturers break their all-time monthly volume record this month. Among them Jetour (for the third straight month), Leapmotor (4th time in a row), Galaxy, Zeekr, Xiaomi (both for the first time above 20,000 units), Bestune, Deepal and Xpeng.

Looking at the models ranking in isolation, the BYD Seagull (+46.5%) threepeats at #1 and signs its 4th ever monthly win (add October 2023). The surprise of the month is delivered by the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (+118.9%) more than doubling its year-ago volume to shoot back up to 2nd place overall. At over 45,000 units it reaches its best volume since December 2021 (45,950) and third highest ever (record of 47,769 in October 2021). This resurgence could be due to the slight facelift the model has received recently. The Mini EV breaks the BYD order with the remainder of the Top 6 all composed of BYD models: the Song Plus (+38.8%) finishes third above the Qin Plus (+26.2%), still #1 year-to-date, the Qin L and Seal 06. The Tesla Model Y (+33.3%) falls to #7 but still manages a satisfying year-on-year uptick. The Wuling Bingo (+20.8%) sports a third ever Top 10 finish at #10. Notice also the Xiaomi SU7 up 17 spots on last month to just outside the Top 20 at #21.

Previous month: China retail September 2024: Market up 13.1%, BYD, Li Auto, Jetour and Leapmotor break records

One year ago: China retail October 2023: BYD Seagull #1, Li Auto and Xpeng break records

Full October 2024 Top 130 All brands and Top 724 All models below.