BYD Leads July NEV Exports and Retail as Tesla China Exports Jump

New CPCA data for July 2026 shows BYD dominating both NEV exports and domestic retail, while Tesla China's exports surge to third place and its retail sales drop out of the top 10.

This article was drafted with AI assistance from multiple sources and was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication.

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released its monthly rankings for passenger vehicle exports and retail sales on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. The data show BYD leading in both new energy vehicle (NEV) exports and domestic retail, while Tesla China's export volumes surged but its China retail sales fell out of the top ten.

In the export segment, BYD shipped 173,721 passenger NEVs in July, a 121.7% increase year-on-year and a 1.7% rise from June. Its export share stood at 32.2%, down from 34.2% in the previous month. Chery followed in second place with 82,768 units, up 195.4% year-on-year and 12.1% month-on-month, holding a 15.3% share. Tesla China climbed to third, exporting 66,330 vehicles, an 83.4% increase from June and 143.2% year-on-year, lifting its share to 12.3% from fourth place. Geely ranked fourth with 60,584 units, a 591.8% surge year-on-year but a 1.6% dip from June, for an 11.2% share. Changan took fifth with 26,200 units, up 74.0% from June, while SAIC Passenger Vehicle slipped to sixth with 24,778 units, down 19.0% month-on-month. Leapmotor ranked seventh with 17,569 units, up 281.5% year-on-year but down 16.3% from June. GWM and Xpeng completed the top ten with 10,162 and 9,700 units respectively, with Xpeng up 28.8% from June.

For the January-to-July period, BYD's cumulative NEV exports reached 943,051 units, up 80.8% year-on-year, for a 34.0% share. Chery followed with 373,069 units (up 170.7%, 13.5% share), Geely with 336,001 (up 599.7%, 12.1%), and Tesla China with 295,324 (up 130.1%, 10.7%). SAIC Passenger Vehicle ranked fifth with 149,554 units, Leapmotor sixth with 113,863 units (up 355.8%), and Xpeng tenth with 41,299 units.

In the domestic retail market, BYD led July with 223,461 passenger NEVs sold, down 18.6% year-on-year and 0.5% from June, capturing a 23.5% share, up from 22.3% in June. Geely followed with 105,526 units, down 13.1% year-on-year and 2.2% from June, for an 11.1% share. Leapmotor impressed with 83,698 units, an 83.9% year-on-year surge and a 15.6% month-on-month increase, the largest gain among the top ten. Its global deliveries reached 101,267 vehicles in July, the first time above 100,000 in a single month. Changan ranked fourth with 59,907 units, down 10.5% from June, followed by SAIC-GM-Wuling with 48,967 units, up 8.3% month-on-month. Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) took sixth with 45,422 units, a 4.1% year-on-year decline and 10.3% from June. Chery ranked seventh with 39,079 units (4.1% share), Nio eighth with 35,842 units (up 70.5% year-on-year but down 11.6% from June, 3.8% share), SAIC Passenger Vehicle ninth with 31,471 units (up 341.6% year-on-year, down 6.8% month-on-month), and Xiaomi EV tenth with 31,267 units (up 2.7% year-on-year, down 10.0% from June). Tesla, however, fell out of the top ten, selling 27,249 units in July. Li Auto and Xpeng were also absent from the list.

For the January-to-July period, BYD led retail with 1,214,340 units (21.4% share, down 35.6% year-on-year), followed by Geely with 683,873 (12.1%), Changan with 381,574, Leapmotor with 343,891, and Tesla with 266,204 (down 12.4% year-on-year, 4.7% share, sixth). Nio ranked eighth with 226,490 units, Li Auto ninth with 223,940, and Xiaomi EV tenth with 216,322.

In the overall passenger vehicle market, including internal combustion engine models, BYD led retail in July with a 15.3% share, Geely was second with 160,647 units (11.0% share), and Leapmotor third with 5.7%. For the first seven months, BYD overtook Geely in cumulative retail, holding an 11.9% share versus Geely's 1,181,990 units and 11.6% share; in the January-to-June period, Geely had led with 11.7% to BYD's 11.4%. This shift reflects BYD's focus on NEVs, as it produces only battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models, while Geely still offers conventional gasoline vehicles.

The CPCA's report also highlighted a notable decline for joint ventures: FAW-Volkswagen's retail sales fell 33.9% year-on-year to 73,408 units, and SAIC-Volkswagen dropped 41.9% to 48,000 units.