China retail January-February 2026: Volkswagen and Xiaomi YU7 #1 year-to-date

The Xiaomi YU7 is the best-selling vehicle in China (retail) so far in 2026.

Retail sales for the selection of vehicles included in this update drop -16.1% in January to 1,496,644 units and -14.2% in February to 1,112,041. This leads to a year-to-date tally off -15.3% to 2,608,685. 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.

In January, Volkswagen (-19.3%) takes the lead of the brands ranking despite falling faster than the market. It distances Toyota (+11.5%) in outstanding shape and up two spots on December to #2. Geely (-19.4%) drops to #3 but BYD (-58.5%) freefalls to #4. Audi (+4.8%) is up to #5 ahead of Chery (-20.8%), Honda (-19.8%) and Changan (-39.2%). AITO is up 78.7%, Xiaomi (+70.1%) equals its best ranking at #11, NIO is up 154% and Fang Cheng Bao up 272.5%. Tesla is down -40.8%.

In February, Volkswagen (+8.2%) repeats at #1, the first time in two years it manages to keep the top spot for two consecutive months. Geely (-8.5%) advances to #2, passing Toyota (+6%). BYD (-62.5%) accelerates its fall and stays in hell at #4, ahead of Chery (+19.2%) and Changan (-15.6%). Tesla (+29.6%) is up 17 spots on January to #7, followed by a surging Nissan (+41.9%) and Audi (+18.2%). Wuling falls -59% to #10. Notice also Fang Cheng Bao (+270.2%), NIO (+89.2%), AITO (+47.1%), Hongqi (+25.3%), Zeekr (+21.2%), Buick (+20.3%) and Haval (+12%) defying the gloomy environment with double-digit gains.

Looking at the models ranking, the new Xiaomi YU7 is by far the best-selling vehicle in the country in January with an over 10,000-unit advantage over the #2, the Nissan Sylphy (+27.3%). The AITO M7 (+186.6%) is up to a record third place, followed by the VW Sagitar (-17.9%) and Passat (-29.5%). The Honda CR-V (+33.7%) and Toyota Front Lander (+28.3%) impress at #6 and #7 respectively just as the NIO ES8 (+4419.1%) brilliantly cracks the Top 10 for the first time at #8. Notice also the new Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 at #11 and the new Li i6 at #16.

In February, the Nissan Sylphy (+49.9%) lodges a surprise win, its first one since December 2022. It topples the new Xiaomi YU7, but the latter easily stays atop the YTD charts with a 8,089-unit advantage. The VW Passat (+32.9%) is up to #3 ahead of the Tesla Model Y (+81.3%). Note the Model Y and Model Y L sales are separated in this Dataset and combined the Model Y nameplate would be #1 this month. The VW Sagitar (+29.2%) rounds out the Top 5 while the new Li i6 shoots up 10 ranks to a record 6th place. 

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Full January and February 2026 Top 124 All brands and Top 746 All models below.