China’s passenger new energy vehicle (NEV) wholesale sales are estimated at 1.8 million units in October 2026, according to a preliminary forecast from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). That would be an 8% increase from September and 12% year on year, surpassing the previous monthly high of 1.706 million units recorded in November 2025.
The estimate brings passenger NEV wholesale sales for the first 10 months of 2026 to about 13.22 million, up 9.9% from the same period last year. BYD led October’s manufacturer rankings with 483,125 units, followed by Geely at 213,165, Chery at 134,471, Changan at 122,422 and Leapmotor at 103,021. Geely, Chery, SAIC Passenger Vehicle, Xpeng and Great Wall Motor also reported record monthly NEV sales, while SAIC-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen more than doubled their NEV wholesale sales year on year.
The CPCA cited elevated oil prices as a factor supporting NEV demand, alongside a rebound in production and sales after the Mid-Autumn Festival fell in September. It also pointed to constraints on growth, including overseas supply-chain and trade uncertainty and a high comparison base following a rush to buy before trade-in subsidies were tightened a year earlier. The 1.8 million figure is an estimate extrapolated from preliminary reports by major manufacturers, which together reported about 1.62 million units; it is not a final count.