China's NEV monthly sales share exceeds 60% for first time

BEIJING -- China's new-energy vehicle sales in July 2026 accounted for more than 60 percent of the monthly new car sales for the first time, while the cumulative share for the first seven months of the year also surpassed 50 percent, industry data showed on Wednesday.

In July alone, NEV output and sales reached over 1.57 million and 1.56 million units, respectively, up 26.8 percent and 23.7 percent year-on-year, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Among the NEVs, pure electric vehicle output and sales both exceeded 1 million units in July, rising over 30 percent from a year earlier, the data revealed.

In the first seven months of 2026, NEV output and sales reached 9.01 million and 9 million units, respectively, both up nearly 10 percent year-on-year.

Overall auto output and sales in July stood at 2.57 million and 2.58 million units, respectively, edging down both month on month and year-on-year, a decline that CAAM Deputy Secretary-General Chen Shihua attributed to seasonal factors.

July is traditionally a slow season for auto sales, said Chen, who also noted that early demand released from the half-year sales push and persistent high temperatures, as well as typhoons and flooding in some regions, all weighed on market performance.

Vehicle exports maintained strong momentum in July, topping 1.04 million units for the second consecutive month, up 81.3 percent year-on-year. Notably, NEV exports of the month rose 1.5-fold to 553,000 units, making up over half of total vehicle exports for two straight months.

During the January-July period, vehicle exports totaled 6.14 million units, up 66.8 percent, including 2.91 million NEVs, a 1.2-fold increase.