China wholesales May 2026: Leapmotor, Zeekr, Tesla defy market down -22.1%, exports up 75.1%

Zeekr reaches a record volume in May. The 9X is its best-seller.

Domestic sales of locally made Passenger Vehicles continue to freefall in China in May at -22.1% year-on-year to 1.51 million units, but are up 9.2% on April. Year-to-date volumes are now off -19.5% to 7.099 million. Sales are still suffering from the end of tax incentives and EV subsidies at the start of the year. A moderation of the devastating price wars that have characterised the market for the past couple of years has helped ease consumer expectations of further vehicle discounts, encouraging some buyers to return to showrooms. The shift towards New Energy Vehicles (BEV+PHEV) is getting more acute each month, reaching a record 62.9% share in May. However NEVs could not escape a YoY fall at -7% in May to 950,000. ICE sales are properly imploding, off -39% year-on-year to 37.1% share and contributing 82% of the overall market’s decline. Foreign carmakers are finally catching on the NEV craze, with sales up 51% in May vs. -41% for ICE vehicles.

Passenger Vehicle (PV) sales of Chinese domestic brands are down -17% to 1.04 million and 68.7% share, up from 64.9% a year ago in May 2025. Foreign brands saw their sales plunge -35% for the month, with German marques at 13.4% share (vs. 15.7% a year ago), Japanese at 10.5% (vs. 12.6%) and US brands at 5.9% (vs. 5.2%). In the detail by segment, cars are down -29.6% for the month to 613k units, SUVs off -14.6% to 832k and MPVs down -30% to 66k. Year-to-date car sales are down -29.1% to 2.888 million, SUVs are down -10.7% to 3.867 million and MPV off -16.7% to 343k.

The Leapmotor A10 ranks #4 overall for its third month in market.

Meanwhile PV exports surge 75.1% year-on-year to 784,000 units in May, accounting for 35% of total wholesales vs. just 19% in May 2025. NEVs accounted for 54% of total PV imports, up from 45% a year ago thanks to volumes up 112.6% to 424,000 units. Year-to-date NEV exports are up 117.3% to 1.732 million. Exports by domestic brands soar 83% to 682,000 while foreign and luxury brands are up 36% to 102,000. All in all, electrification and export growth will remain China’s main long term growth engines.

Looking at the brands ranking, BYD (-37.9%) is the overall best-seller for the third month running but endures another harsh YoY loss and its 11th straight double-digit decline. It is slowly climbing back up the YTD ladder after a disastrous start of the year, now #2 above Volkswagen. Geely (-21.7%) resists a little better and matches the market, staying #1 year-to-date with a 23,500 unit advantage over BYD. At this rate BYD will be back to #1 YTD by the half year mark. Volkswagen (-37.2%) and Toyota (-32.1%) continue to lose share as their attempts at catching up on domestic rivals in the NEV race face mixed results (see further down).

Nevo sales are up 50.5% in May, its best-seller is the Q05.

Leapmotor (+48.3%) defies the negative context and repeats at a record 5th place overall, one of only three brands in positive in the Top 15 alongside Tesla (+22.5%) and Xiaomi (+16.9%). AITO (-6.3%), Li Auto (-18.4%) and Wuling (-19.9%) manage to contain their loss below the market rate but Chery (-29.1%), Audi (-24.9%) and BMW (-31.2%) aren’t that lucky, with Honda (-48.8%) and Nissan (-40.7%) hit the hardest. In contrast Nevo (+50.5%) continues to shoot up just as Zeekr (+59.1%) reaches a record volume at 27,599. MG (+109.7%), Fang Cheng Bao (+109.3%), Onvo (+91.4%) and NIO (+50.6%) all impress below and are all domestic brands. In fact, other than Tesla and Mazda (+74.9%), there are no foreign brands managing a year-on-year gain this month. 

Looking at the models ranking in isolation, the Geely Xingyuan (aka EX2) is the faraway leader this month, selling almost 10,000 units more than any other vehicle in market. The Tesla Model Y (+16.7%) is back up to #2, a ranking it also holds year-to-date, while the Xiaomi SU7 (-14.2%) drops one spot on April to #3. The new Leapmotor A10 confirms it is an instant blockbuster and the marque’s most successful model ever, gaining 5 ranks on last month to #4 with over 22,000 sales for its third appearance in the charts. The Li Auto i6, also a new model, rounds out the Top 5 and is up to #3 YTD. The new Sealion 6 is BYD’s best-seller and only Top 10 member at #6. Launched in March, the AITO M6 is up 109 spots on April to land inside the Top 10 at #9, with the Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 making it no less than five recent launches in the May Top 10.

The VW ID.ERA 9X passes the 5,000 monthly sales mark in May.

There are no ICE vehicles among the 17 best-sellers, with the Geely Boyue L (+0.9%) the first one at #18 ahead of the Nissan Sylphy (-54%) at #19 and the VW Lavida (-43.2%) at #20. We noted in our Beijing Auto Show review that foreign manufacturers have finally woken up and are  launching NEVs to stay competitive in the largest car market in the world. How much of it is successful? Toyota has the bZ3X (+54.9%) at 6,731 sales and the new bZ7 sedan just below the Corolla at 3,254 units vs. 3,268. The VW ID.ERA 9X already passes the 5,000 monthly sales mark for its 2nd month in market. The Nissan N6 (2,002 sales) and N7 (1,447) sedans have missed the mark but the NX8 SUV is up to an encouraging 4,578 sales for its third appearance. Finally, the Audi E5 is a complete failure at just 500 sales for the month, just as the E7X launches with 400 units.

Previous month: China wholesales April 2026: Domestic market down -21.6%, exports up 74.4%, Leapmotor, Xiaomi, Nevo and Deepal hit records

One year ago: China wholesales May 2025: Geely up 98.1%, BYD up 7.2%, Leapmotor reaches all-time high volume

Full May 2026 Top 93 All brands and Top XXX All models below.