China wholesales August 2026: Fang Cheng Bao (+111.8%), Leapmotor (+65.9%) ignore market down -23.7%

The Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 is up to a record 4th place at home.

It’s another mediocre month for new car sales in China, down year-on-year for the 11th time in a row at -23.7% to 1.55 million vehicles. The fall even accelerates, as this is worse than the -20.9% of July. NEV sales (BEV+PHEV) drop -10.1% to a record 64.7% share of domestic sales, vs. -3.9% last month. Exports jump 77.5% year-on-year to 894,000 units vs. +88.2% in July, with NEVs up 154.7% vs. 147.8% in July. According to CPCA, exports are forecast to reach 12 million units this year, and 18 to 20 million by 2030.

Leapmotor delivers a third monthly record in a row 

In the brands charts, BYD (-35.9%) continues to suffer, accelerating its fall vs. -31.5% in July, enduring a 14th consecutive double-digit YoY decline. Geely (-24%) fares a little better but stays at a distance (over 50,000 units below). Toyota (-21.1%) manages to contain its fall below the market rate and ranks #3 for the 6th time this year, above a freefalling Volkswagen (-40.2%). Below is the ever-bright Leapmotor (+65.9%), breaking its volume record for the third straight month even though the gap with VW inflates from 3,852 units in July to 9,379 this month. Wuling (-18.5%), Chery (-24.6%) and Tesla (-12.4%) are all lukewarm.

The i6 helps push Li Auto to #9.

Li Auto (+32.1%) is up to #9 which is its best ranking since July 2024 (#8). For its part Fang Cheng Bao (+111.8%) more than doubles its year-ago volume to break into the brands Top 10 for the first time at #10. Xpeng (-10.7%) climbs to a record 12th place, also reached in February 2025. The German premium trio roughly matches the market, with BMW off -23.6%, Mercedes down -24.9% and Audi at -29.7%. Great performers down the charts include Luxeed (+442.7%), MG (+138.5%), NIO (+104%), Arcfox (+62.8%), Nevo (+55.7%), Denza (+43.4%) and Zeekr (+34%). Mazda (+55.7%) is the only foreigner in positive in the entire market…

The Geely Xingyuan remains the best-selling vehicle in China.

Looking at the models ranking, the Geely Xingyuan aka EX2 (-13.9%) is by far the most popular, snapping the pole position for the 5th time this year and widening the gap with the #2 YTD Tesla Model Y (-25.8%) to almost 40,000 sales. In 2nd place again is the new Leapmotor A10, smashing its volume record to over 30,000 units. The new Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 is up one spot to a new all time high #4, distancing the BYD Yuan Up (+16.9%), Tesla Model 3 (+17.2%) and Nevo Q05 (+1354.2%). The new Li i6 is back up one rank to #8 ahead of the BYD Dolphin (+20.5%) and Xiaomi SU7 (-16.8%). The next best-selling recent launches are the BYD Song Ultra (#11), Wuling Bingo Pro (#13) and Chery QQ3 EV (#23).

The Audi E5 sold just 160 units in August.

As we have done for the past few months, let’s have a look at recent launches by foreign manufacturers in their desperate attempt at reclaiming success. The Toyota bZ3X (9,216) continues to perform honourably and helps the carmaker stay above water (somewhat). The Buick Electra E7 (4,863) misses out on the Top 100 just as the Mazda EZ-60 climbs to 4,532 sales. The VW ID.ERA 9X (1,109 vs. 5,003 in May) is already a flop, while the Audi E7X (1,808 vs. 4,017 in June) is also losing major steam very early in its career. The VW ID.UNYX 07 (706), 08 (379) and 06 (217) are already down to insignificant numbers while the Audi E5 is at just 160 sales…

Previous month: China wholesales July 2026: Market down -20.9%, Leapmotor hits another record, threatens VW for #4

One year ago: China wholesales August 2025: BYD down -20.7%, Geely up 83.6%, Leapmotor breaks record again

Full August 2026 Top 93 All brands and Top 590 All models below.