The Chinese automotive market reached a new milestone in April 2026, with the retail penetration rate of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) surpassing 60% for the first time in history. According to the latest retail sales rankings from Dongchedi and data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), there is only one traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle in the top ten best-sellers list.
Market dominance and top 10 rankings
In April, nine out of the top ten best-selling passenger models in China were electric or plug-in hybrids. The Geely Binyue (Coolray in the international markets) was the sole ICE representative, ranking 8th. The sales volume of the top-ranked Geely Xingyuan (Geely Galaxy EX2) was approximately 2.3 times that of the Coolray.
The top 10 retail models for April were:
- Geely Xingyuan (Geely Galaxy EX2): 34,727 units
- Xiaomi SU7: 26,826 units
- Tesla Model Y: 22,990 units
- Li Auto i6: 21,024 units
- Changan Qiyuan (Nevo) Q05: 15,814 units
- BYD Sealion 06 EV: 15,659 units
- BYD Yuan Up: 15,658 units
- Geely Coolray (ICE): 14,923 units
- Leapmotor A10: 14,372 units
- BYD Dolphin: 14,218 units
This marks a rapid decline for fuel-powered cars, which held five spots in the top ten as recently as March 2026, and seven spots in January.
The “collapse” of ICE sales
The CPCA reported that total passenger car retail sales in April reached 1.384 million units, a 21.5% year-on-year (YoY) decrease. While NEV retail sales stood at 849,000 units (down 6.8% YoY), the ICE segment suffered a “collapse-style” decline, with only 530,000 units sold – a 37% YoY plunge and a 33% drop from the previous month.
The NEV penetration rate hit 61.4%, up 9.7 percentage points from the same period last year. Analysts quoted by Jiemian attribute this shift to high oil prices and a fundamental shift in consumer confidence toward electric mobility.
Brand performance and penetration
The transition is most pronounced among domestic manufacturers:
- China brands: NEV penetration reached 80.1%.
- Luxury brands: NEV penetration stood at 26.1%.
- Mainstream joint ventures: NEV penetration rose to 14.1%.
The leading manufacturers by NEV retail volume in April included:
- BYD: 182,025 units
- Geely: 95,585 units
- Changan: 64,471 units
- Leapmotor: 57,162 units
- Xiaomi: 36,702 units
- Chery: 34,768 units
- Li Auto: 34,085 units
- Nio: 29,312 units
Export surge
The “New Energy + Domestic Brand” dual-drive strategy is also reshaping global markets. For the first time, NEVs accounted for more than half of all passenger car exports.
- Total Exports: 769,000 units (+80.7% YoY).
- NEV Exports: 406,000 units (+111.8% YoY), representing 52.7% of total exports.
The top three NEV exporters were BYD (130,042 units), Chery (57,910 units), and Tesla China (53,522 units). Domestic brands dominated the export sector with 653,000 units, a 91% YoY increase.
