China wholesales March 2025: Tesla Model Y #1, Xiaomi SU7 breaks volume record

The Xiaomi SU7 sells over 29,000 units in a single month.

According to data by CAAM and CPCA, new Passenger Vehicle wholesales in China shoot up 8.9% year-on-year in March to 2,412,000 units, a record for the month. This includes 1,257,000 SUVs (+9.2%), 1,046,000 cars (+8.7%) and 108,000 MPVs (+7.3%). The Q1 volume is up 11.3% to 6,277,000 sales, including 3,331,000 SUVs (+9.9%), 2,665,000 cars (+11.1%) and 280,000 MPVs (+32.8%). Indigenous brands surge 22% year-on-year to 1,580,000 units, whereas joint-ventures are off -6% to 550,000 and premium brands sink -16% to 280,000. New Energy Vehicles (EVs + PHEVs) continue to lift the market up at +35.5% year-on-year to 1,128,000 wholesales and up 42.8% over Q1 to 2,847,000. Passenger Vehicle production lifts 11.5% to 2,481,000, eclipsing the previous March record of 2,160,000 units hit in 2018. Q1 production is up 14.5% to 6,311,000. In an interesting twist, exports are actually down -8% year-on-year in March to 391,000 but remain up by just 1% over Q1 to 1,120,000. 

No surprises atop the brands charts: BYD (+9.8%) is head and shoulders above the competition with just under 270,000 sales. The Yuan UP (+1032.3%), Song L (+165.4%) and Seagull (+21.9%) help the carmaker but its gains this month are mostly due to an unending raft of new models including the Qin L, Seal 06, Seal 06GT, Sealion 07, Sealion 05 and Seal 05. Volkswagen (+1.3%) is far below at 161,000 sales and a tiny uptick but back up to #2. It is helped by the Tharu (+76.4%), T-Roc (+39.6%), Tiguan L (+31.6%), Magotan (+20.7%), Sagitar (+17.3%) and Lavida (+13.3%). Geely (+96.3%) almost doubles its sales year-on-year to 157,000 with the new Xingyuan above 30,000 units for the first time and the Galaxy NEV series up 267.8% to 37,458.

The Tesla Model Y is the best-selling vehicle in China in March.

Toyota (+21%) stays at #4 and is strong for once, followed by Wuling (+54.2%) and Tesla (+18.8%) also performing greatly. Chery (+67.3%) is the only additional Top 13 member to beat the market, with five brands in stiff negative including Nissan (-28.3%), Mercedes (-17%) and Audi (-14.2%). Li Auto (+26.5%) is back up three spots on February to #14 ahead of Jetour (+41.3%). Leapmotor (+128.8%) surges as does Xpeng (+233.5%). Xiaomi breaks its volume record at 29,244, while Lynk & Co (+33.6%), Deepal (+82.1%) and Roewe (+45.1%) all post solid results. In contrast Hyundai (-36.4%), Ford (-21.7%), Volvo (-22.7%), Cadillac (-28.1%), Lincoln (-34.3%), Land Rover (-42.8%), Citroen (-40%), Peugeot (-73%) and Chevrolet (-79.2%) all tumble down.

Looking at the models ranking in isolation, the Tesla Model Y (+0.6%) is stable to snap the pole position for the first time this year. It climbs to #3 over Q1. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (+149%) is boosted by the arrival of a 4-door version and ranks #2 both for the month and over Q1. The BYD Seagull (+21%) drops one spot on last month to #3. Let’s notice that BYD hasn’t managed to place a model at #1 at home since last November when the Seagull won. Leader in February, the new Geely Xingyuan falls to #4 but holds onto the YTD top spot. Another exceptional result for the Xiaomi SU7 rounding out the Top 5. It’s a disappointing showing for the BYD Qin Plus (-45.7%), #1 a year ago, as well as for the BYD Song Plus (-25.8%). The Tesla Model 3 (+79.1%) is in great shape at #8 with the VW Lavida (+13.3%) and Geely Xingyue L (+74%) closing the Top 10.

Previous month: China wholesales February 2025: Geely Xingyuan best-seller, Xiaomi SU7 up to #4

One year ago: China wholesales March 2024: BYD outsells Volkswagen by a record 86,000 units

Full March 2025 Top 98 All brands and Top 570 All models below.