In mid-September 2026, CAAM and the China Passenger Car Association successively released relevant data on China's auto market for August 2026. CAAM noted that in August, auto consumption subsidies continued to expand in multiple regions, automaker sales promotions were active, and auto production and sales rose MoM while edging down YoY. The Chinese market remained under pressure, with monthly sales posting a YoY decline of over 20% for the fifth consecutive month. Exports maintained rapid growth, with monthly exports exceeding 1 million units for the third consecutive month.......SMM has compiled the relevant data on the auto and battery markets in August for readers' reference.
Automobiles
CAAM: August auto production and sales both rose MoM; January-August auto production and sales both surpassed 20 million units
In August, auto production and sales reached 2.684 million and 2.712 million units, respectively, up 4.3% and 4.9% MoM, respectively, and down 4.7% and 5.1% YoY, respectively. In January-August, auto production and sales reached 20.255 million and 20.315 million units, respectively, both down 3.8% YoY.
CAAM: August NEV production and sales both rose YoY; NEV sales accounted for 52.4% of total new vehicle sales in the first eight months
In August, the monthly sales share of NEVs hit another record high. NEV production and sales reached 1.653 million and 1.643 million units, respectively, up 18.9% and 17.8% YoY, respectively. NEV sales accounted for 60.6% of total new vehicle sales. In January-August, NEV production and sales reached 10.668 million and 10.65 million units, respectively, up 10.8% and 10.7% YoY, respectively, with NEV sales accounting for 52.4% of total new vehicle sales.
CAAM: Auto exports exceeded 1 million units for the third consecutive month; NEV export share exceeded 50% for the third consecutive month
In August, auto exports reached 1.01 million units, down 3.2% MoM and up 65.3% YoY. In January-August, auto exports reached 7.153 million units, up 66.7% YoY.
In August, NEV exports reached 526,000 units, down 5% MoM and up 1.3x YoY; conventional fuel vehicle exports reached 485,000 units, down 1.1% MoM and up 25.2% YoY. In January-August, NEV exports reached 3.435 million units, up 1.2x YoY; conventional fuel vehicle exports reached 3.718 million units, up 34.7% YoY. In terms of export structure, NEV exports accounted for over 50% of total auto exports for the third consecutive month.
Regarding the auto market in August, CAAM noted that in August, auto consumption subsidies continued to escalate in multiple regions, automaker sales promotions were active, and auto production and sales rose MoM while edging down slightly YoY. In the Chinese market, pressure persisted, with monthly sales posting a YoY decline exceeding 20% for five consecutive months. Exports maintained rapid growth, with monthly exports surpassing 1 million units for three consecutive months, serving as a key growth driver stabilizing the industry. NEVs continued to consolidate their dominant position, with their monthly sales share reaching a new high.
Recently, the State Council executive meeting deployed efforts to address account receivables, explicitly calling for vigorous rectification of the problem of large enterprises delaying payments to small and medium-sized enterprises and for improving industry payment rules. Relevant government departments have actively carried out actions in regulating payment practices, quality improvement, and automakers' go-global conduct. The ongoing deepening of auto industry governance will push the industry from pursuing scale and speed toward quality and safety, supporting the healthy and sustainable development of the sector.
The CPCA also released data on the August passenger vehicle market. In August 2026, retail sales of passenger vehicles in China reached 1.541 million units, down 23.6% YoY and up 5.5% MoM. Cumulative retail sales in the first eight months of this year reached 11.716 million units, down 20.8% YoY. In August, the Chinese passenger vehicle market exhibited a trend of "weak overall recovery, strengthening MoM momentum, and extreme structural divergence," with the tail end of the off-season "consolidating at lows and building momentum" as structural industry adjustment deepened further. The CPCA forecast team's prediction index for July was 19%, the satisfaction rating for July assessed in mid-August was 17%, and our prediction index for August is 12%, a historically low level. The satisfaction rating expected to be released in mid-September should improve.
On the passenger NEV front, production of passenger NEVs reached 1.528 million units in August, up 19.2% YoY and up 5.0% MoM. Cumulative passenger NEV production reached 9.758 million units in January-August, up 9.8% YoY.
In terms of NEV exports, passenger NEV exports reached 518,000 units in August, up 154.7% YoY, down 5.0% MoM. They accounted for 58.4% of passenger vehicle exports, up 18 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Among them, pure electric vehicles accounted for 63.4% of NEV exports (66.0% in the same period last year), and A00+A0-class pure electric vehicles, as the core focus, accounted for 56.5% of pure electric exports (45.2% in the same period last year). With the emergence of Chinese NEVs' scale advantages and expanding market demand, Chinese-made new energy brand products are increasingly going global, with their recognition outside China continuing to rise. Among them, narrow-range plug-in hybrids accounted for 32.9% of new energy exports (31.7% in the same period last year), and range-extended vehicles accounted for 3.7% of new energy exports (2.2% in the same period last year). Although there has been some external interference from other countries recently, the number of domestic narrow-range plug-in hybrids exported to developing countries is growing rapidly, with bright prospects.
The CPCA stated that in August, the domestic passenger vehicle market showed an operating trend of "weak overall recovery, strengthening MoM momentum, and extreme structural differentiation," with the tail end of the off-season "consolidating at lows and building strength," and the industry's structural adjustment further deepening.
In August 2026, auto market retail sales rebounded 5.5% MoM, the result of multiple intertwined and resonating factors, including high oil price suppression, weak macro conditions, rising policy expectations, and the boost from the Chengdu Auto Show. Geopolitical conflicts continued to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing international oil prices to consolidate at highs. In 2026, domestic gasoline prices have been raised by more than 1,720 yuan/mt cumulatively, with an increase of 180 yuan since late July in particular, significantly raising the cost of using internal combustion engine vehicles, and domestic demand for ICE passenger vehicles continued to shrink sharply. In August, the manufacturing PMI rebounded 0.6% MoM to 49.8%, still below the 50 mark, with marginal end-user domestic demand recovering but with limited strength. In early-to-mid August, high-temperature holidays suppressed end-user showroom traffic; in late August, the Chengdu Auto Show drove a recovery in market heat; and month-end sales pushes boosted the recovery in daily average retail sales, with end-user orders and showroom traffic showing a pattern of low first, high later. In addition, after the implementation of the new national standard for new energy safety, compliant products were intensively iterated and launched, and the rising technical threshold pushed the industry from "price involution" to "value competition." Coupled with the July Politburo meeting's clear call for stronger fiscal efforts and the continued implementation of policies to expand domestic demand and boost consumption, bottom support was provided for the auto market. Therefore, this round of market decline was a phased structural fluctuation, not a trend deterioration of the industry.
Overall, the August 2026 passenger vehicle market showed five distinct characteristics: First, total volume recovered MoM but remained under pressure YoY, with structural differentiation amplified to an extreme. "Deep cooling of fuel vehicles and strong leadership of new energy" became the main market theme, and high oil prices continued to accelerate the pace of "oil-to-electric substitution." Second, fuel vehicles contracted across the board, with August fuel vehicle retail sales down more than 40% YoY, a nearly halved decline, while conventional hybrid models were relatively resilient. Third, the new energy penetration rate continued to break new highs, with August new energy retail sales at 1.005 million units, down 10.1% YoY and up 5.7% MoM, and the penetration rate reaching 65.2%, another record high. Fourth, exports continued to play a bottom-supporting role, effectively stabilizing automakers' wholesale volumes and capacity. In August, producer wholesale volume was 2.353 million units, down only 5.3% YoY and up 4.5% MoM, with the wholesale YoY growth rate 18.3 percentage points higher than retail. Fifth, industry inventory continued to decline, high oil prices significantly impacted fuel vehicles, dealers faced great survival pressure and lacked confidence, and under the domestic pattern of "weak wholesale and weak retail," the channel side remained under pressure.
Power battery
From January to August, China's cumulative production of power and ESS batteries reached 1,523.9 GWh, up 57.0% YoY.
In August, China's combined production of power and ESS batteries was 237.0 GWh, up 8.8% MoM and 69.8% YoY.From January to August, China's cumulative production of power and ESS batteries was 1,523.9 GWh, up 57.0% YoY.
From January to August, China's cumulative exports of power and ESS batteries reached 259.0 GWh, up 49.6% YoY.
In August, China's combined exports of power and ESS batteries were 42.4 GWh, up 20.4% MoM and 87.5% YoY, accounting for 19.0% of that month's sales. Of this, power battery exports were 24.7 GWh, accounting for 58.2% of total exports, up 3.1% MoM and 64.0% YoY; ESS battery exports were 17.7 GWh, accounting for 41.8% of total exports, up 57.2% MoM and 134.2% YoY.
From January to August, China's cumulative exports of power and ESS batteries were 259.0 GWh, up 49.6% YoY, accounting for 18.7% of cumulative sales. Of this, cumulative power battery exports were 171.4 GWh, accounting for 66.2% of total exports, up 53.7% YoY; cumulative ESS battery exports were 87.6 GWh, accounting for 33.8% of total exports, up 42.2% YoY.
From January to August, China's cumulative domestic power battery installations reached 489.1 GWh, up 17.0% YoY.
In August, China's domestic power battery installations were 79.0 GWh, up 5.9% MoM and 26.3% YoY.Of this, ternary battery installations were 11.0 GWh, accounting for 14.0% of total installations, down 1.0% MoM but up 0.9% YoY; LFP battery installations were 67.6 GWh, accounting for 85.6% of total installations, up 7.0% MoM and 31.0% YoY.
From January to August, China's cumulative domestic power battery installations were 489.1 GWh, up 17.0% YoY.Of this, cumulative ternary battery installations were 85.6 GWh, accounting for 17.5% of total installations, up 10.6% YoY; cumulative LFP battery installations were 402.7 GWh, accounting for 82.3% of total installations, up 18.3% YoY.
Leap Motor's monthly deliveries surpassed 100,000 again in August; BYD's overseas sales continued to hit new records.
At the beginning of the month, the August report cards for new EV makers were released, with Leap Motor showing unstoppable momentum as its monthly deliveries once again exceeded 100,000 units!Specifically:
In August, Leap Motor delivered 103,129 units globally, up 80.7% YoY, surpassing the 100,000-unit mark in monthly deliveries once again; based on recent comparable end-user registration figures, Leap Motor ranked among the top four global passenger NEV brands and the top three Chinese passenger NEV brands. From January to August 2026, Leap Motor delivered a total of 560,883 new vehicles. After exceeding 100,000 monthly deliveries for two consecutive months, Leap Motor moved closer to its previously set annual delivery target, with target completion reaching 56.09%.
Meanwhile, according to an article on the company's official WeChat account, in H1 2026, Leap Motor achieved revenue of 38.11 billion yuan, a record high for the same period; net profit reached 210 million yuan, extending its profitability streak with profits for three consecutive half-year periods; Q2 gross margin rose QoQ to 12.6%, with operating quality improving quarter by quarter.
XPeng Motors successfully held onto the No. 2 spot this time, with August deliveries reaching 39,107 units, up 4% YoY. According to the company's Q2 financial report, total revenue in Q2 2026 reached 19.74 billion yuan, up 8.0% YoY; vehicle deliveries totaled 103,295 units, up 64.8% QoQ; overall gross margin was 20.7%, up 3.4 percentage points YoY, with operating quality steadily improving.
Li Auto, ranked third, delivered 37,679 new vehicles in August. As of August 31, 2026, Li Auto's cumulative deliveries reached 1,801,834 units. Li Auto stated that in H1 this year, it remained the top-selling Chinese brand in the NEV market for vehicles priced at 200,000 yuan and above. The Li Auto i6 ranked among the top three in sales across all car models priced above 200,000 yuan for seven consecutive months, and together with the Li Auto L6, it will help consolidate the company's leading position in the 200,000-300,000 yuan SUV market.
As of August 31, 2026, Li Auto had 487 retail centers nationwide, covering 160 cities, and 533 after-sales repair centers and authorized service centers, covering 218 cities. Li Auto had put into use 4,162 Li Auto supercharging stations nationwide, with 22,939 charging piles.
NIO delivered 35,836 new vehicles in August, up 14.5% YoY, ranking fifth among leading new energy vehicle startups. In the first eight months of 2026, NIO delivered a total of 262,893 new vehicles, up 57.9% YoY. Among these, the NIO brand delivered 160,670 new vehicles, up 64.5% YoY; the Onvo brand delivered 61,428 new vehicles, up 13.2% YoY; and the firefly brand delivered 40,795 new vehicles, up 180.3% YoY. As of now, NIO has cumulatively delivered 1,260,485 new vehicles.
Xiaomi Auto's August deliveries continued to exceed 30,000 units. On September 7, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi Auto's cumulative deliveries had surpassed 800,000 units.
BYD, as the leading domestic EV automaker, also posted impressive August delivery figures. Data shows BYD sold a total of 440,293 new vehicles in August,with overseas sales continuing to set new records,reaching 188,746 units, up 134.6% YoY. From January to August, BYD Group cumulatively sold 266,801 passenger vehicles and pickups, with cumulative overseas sales of 1,157,954 units.
Regarding the August auto market, the China Automobile Dealers Association noted that August showed a low-then-high trend. The first third was weak due to high-temperature holidays and typhoon rainfall, while the middle third saw pent-up demand released and improved end-user traffic. In the final third, the Chengdu Auto Show opened with concentrated new vehicle pre-sales, and local subsidies provided support, slightly lifting market sentiment. However, compared to the same period last year, the overall market still declined, with the traditional off-season and extreme weather continuing to weigh, while the price war also intensified consumers' wait-and-see sentiment. Looking ahead to September, the China Automobile Dealers Association believes that driven by compensatory consumption demand release, concentrated new vehicle launches, and expectations for the traditional peak sales season, the September auto market is expected to recover mildly. However, insufficient end-use demand, the ongoing price war, and the high base from the same period last year will keep YoY performance under pressure.
Looking ahead to September, the China Passenger Car Association estimates that due to the Mid-Autumn Festival falling early on September 25 this year, September will have 22 working days, one fewer than the same period last year. September marks the traditional September-October peak season, and end-user traffic is expected to continue recovering. From a macro perspective, the August manufacturing PMI rebounded MoM and CPI remained stable, with the economy showing "marginal demand recovery and low-level stabilization in aggregate," providing bottom support for the auto market recovery. However, September faces an ultra-high base from the same period last year—the buying rush in September 2025 before subsidies were discontinued in some regions drove monthly retail sales to a historic peak, and this high-base effect will further suppress the recovery this September. Since late July, cumulative gasoline price increases this year have exceeded 830 yuan/mt, while EVs' growing appeal continues to dampen willingness to buy internal combustion engine vehicles. Upstream raw material prices have pulled back somewhat, and with the industry's anti-involution consensus gradually deepening, upstream profits have surged. However, price pressure is being transmitted from upstream to the vehicle manufacturing end, and operating pressure on automakers continues to intensify.
On the policy front, this year's trade-in subsidy policy continues to strengthen, with the number of subsidies expected to show a low-then-high trend. Many local governments will further ramp up measures in September, effectively boosting the September auto market. As the trend toward larger EVs becomes increasingly prominent, the cost-effectiveness of choosing large EVs for family self-driving trips is extremely high, and the National Day holiday travel in October is expected to further boost sales of large EVs.
With the release of China's standards for assisted driving and L3 intelligent driving products, the intelligent driving section of the Road Traffic Safety Law has begun to be revised, overseas autonomous ride-hailing has reached a new level, and assisted intelligent driving is shifting from "novelty" to "standard feature," with low-cost, high-intelligence technology being the key to competition. Consumer expectations for intelligent driving technology highlights will continue to drive up attention and purchase intent for high-level intelligent driving models, potentially becoming new momentum driving structural growth in the new energy vehicle market.
As anti-involution efforts continue to deepen, the CPCA expects that the auto market in September is likely to sustain its MoM recovery trend, and after the high base effect fades, the YoY decline will narrow significantly. From the perspective of passenger vehicle consumption characteristics, the current market exhibits three core features: First, high oil prices continue to suppress demand for internal combustion engine vehicles, "oil-to-electric substitution" is accelerating, the new energy penetration rate is fluctuating at highs above 65%, and the weight of vehicle operating costs in consumers' car purchase decisions continues to rise. Second, replacement demand is squeezing first-time purchase demand, with "consumption upgrading and consumption downgrading exits coexisting." Demand for B-class and above high-end models is robust, while A-class and A00-class economy EVs continue to shrink under the influence of complex factors. Third, new consumer demand driven by intelligent driving is taking shape, with consumer attention to AI intelligent driving functions rising rapidly, and technology experience becoming the third most important car purchase decision factor after driving range and charging infrastructure. Fourth, the trend toward full electrification in the A-class vehicle market is evident, and under high oil prices, improvements in single-vehicle fast charging technology will effectively boost sales of A-class EVs.
Policy side
Recently, official control over corporate payment terms has become increasingly stringent. The State Council Executive Meeting has deployed efforts to address accounts receivable, explicitly calling for vigorous rectification of the problem of large enterprises delaying payments to small and medium-sized enterprises and for improving industry payment rules. On September 14, the State Council Information Office held a routine policy briefing to introduce work related to strengthening the governance of payment collection difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises. Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Ke Jixin stated that, based on surveys by industry institutions, the average payment terms of key automotive enterprises have improved, but it should also be noted that the current average payment terms of domestic automakers still fall short of the expectations of the vast number of small and medium-sized enterprises. For example, issues such as different starting points for calculating payment terms and unclear acceptance conditions all require persistent, long-term efforts and a nail-driving spirit to advance governance.
Regarding the long payment terms in the automotive industry, he stated that in the next step, the MIIT will continue to consolidate existing achievements in payment term optimization, guide third-party institutions to establish a survey and evaluation mechanism for automaker payment term commitments, and carry out tiered assessments of payment term performance on a regular basis. At the same time, it will strengthen coordinated oversight, and for enterprises with large accounts payable, deliberate extension of payment terms, or a high number of complaints, it will conduct interviews and urge them to rectify.
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