China wholesales March 2026: BYD back to #1, domestic market off -16%, exports up 72.7%

The Yuan Up is BYD’s best-seller, ranking #5 overall.

The growing pains of a “post-policy adjustment period” in China following the end of purchase tax exemptions have proven far more severe than anticipated. CAAM data has the Chinese new vehicle  market reaching 2,899,000 units in March, down -0.6% year-on-year. However this includes exports and March sales show an “cold-at-home, hot-abroad” dynamic. The domestic market remains in freefall with sales down -16% year-on-year to 2,024,000 units whereas exports surge 72.7% to 875,000 units. Production is down -3% year-on-year to 2,917,000. Over Q1, sales are down -5.6% to 7,048,000 units and production off -6.9% to 7,039,000. Domestic sales sink -20.3% to 4,823,000 just as exports soar 56.7% to 2,226,000.

Looking at segments, March Passenger Vehicle wholesales are down -2.3% to 2,446,000 and Commercial Vehicles are up 8.9% to 487,000. Domestic PV sales are down -19.2% to 1,663,000 and CV sales are up 2.7% to 360,000. Year-to-date, PV sales are down -7.6% to 5,934,000 and CV sales up 4.% to 1,114,000. Domestic PV and CV sales are down 23.4% to 4,013,000 and up 0.03% to 810,000 respectively.

New Energy Vehicle sales are up 1.2% year-on-year in March to 1,252,000 units, with domestic sales down -18.3% to 882,000 and accounting for 43.6% of the total domestic market. In the detail, BEVs are up 3.2% to 831,000 and PHEVs down -2.3% to 421,000. Year-to-date, NEV sales are down -3.7% to 2,960,000 including 1,913,000 BEVs (-0.8%) and 1,047,000 PHEVs (-8.6%). 

Exports show a completely different picture. PV exports surge 82.4% to 748,000 while CV exports are up 31.4% to 127,000 units. Over Q1, PV exports are up 63% to 1,921,000 and CV exports up 26% to 305,000. Notably, NEV exports are up 130% year-on-year in March to 371,000 and up 120% to 954,000 units year-to-date.

The Li i6 is up to a record 4th place in March.

After a few turbulent months, the brands ranking returns to some kind of normalcy, in the sense that BYD (-38.4%) posts an easy win with over 166,000 sales, compared to roughly 68,000 in January and 74,000 in February. Even though this is still a steep year-on-year fall, the fact that BYD is back on top will have many executives at the company sighing with relief. While most of its models are down sharply, the Dolphin (+50.7%), Seal 05 (+84.5%), and Yuan Up (+25.4%) stand out just as the new Sealion 06 adds over 18,300 to the total. We welcome the Song Ultra with 1,214 sales. BYD pushes Geely (-18%), in an unusual rut, to 2nd place but the latter remains by far the YTD lead with almost 407,000 units vs. 308,000 for BYD which still ranks at a low #4. Toyota (-8%) manages to outsell Volkswagen (-22.1%) for the first time since July 2021.

Below, Nissan (+29.9%) spectacularly sports the only year-on-year gain in the Top 10, and a stunning one at that. The Japanese carmaker is helped by strong performances of the Sylphy (+35.8%) which accounts for 57% of the brand’s March volume, and even though the new N6 and N7 are disappointing. Li Auto (+11.9%) progresses to #11 which is its best ranking since October 2024. Fang Cheng Bao (+162.3%), NIO (+121.5%), Qiyuan (+83.1%), Zeekr (+72.7%) and Deepal (+45.9%) impress below. Of note is MG, traditionally very discreet at home in contrast with export markets, up 80.4% to #30. Among foreign manufacturers, Volvo (+43.3%), Citroen (+41.9%), Mazda (+24.4%) and Cadillac (+22.5%) make themselves noticed.

Looking at the models ranking in isolation, the Tesla Model Y (-17.4%) sports its first win of the year despite a harsh YoY fall, and ranks #2 year-to-date vs. #3 over the Full Year 2025. The Geely Xingyuan (-4.7%) is toppled to #2 but ascends to #1 over Q1. As noted above, the Nissan Sylphy (+35.8%) shines and is up 25 spots on February to #3. The new Li i6 climbs up a further two ranks to a record 4th place, a tremendous performance for the newcomer. The Yuan Up (+25.4%) is back up 50 spots to #5, distancing the VW Lavida (-17.1%) and the new BYD Sealion 06. The Geely Boyue L (+102.7%) and BYD Dolphin (+50.7%) also shine in the remainder of the Top 10.

Previous month: China wholesales February 2026: Market down -15.2%, BYD off -64.3%, Li i6 up to record #6

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

Full March 2026 Top 97 All brands and Top 599 All models below.