China's passenger vehicle registrations drop both YoY, MoM in Jan. 2025 partly due to holiday factor

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- In January 2025, the registration volume of domestically produced passenger vehicles (PVs) on the Chinese Mainland reached 1,790,206 units, marking a year-on-year (YoY) decrease of 17% and also a month-on-month plunge of 34.29%, according to the data compiled by the Gasgoo Auto Research Institute ("GARI").

Of these vehicles registered, 704,396 units were new energy vehicles (NEVs), accounting for 39.35% of total PV registrations.

Meanwhile, oil-fueled vehicles saw a stronger presence, with 1,019,404 units registered—comprising 1,017,160 gasoline-fueled vehicles and 2,244 diesel-powered vehicles—representing 56.94% of the market's total, an 8.26 percentage point increase from the previous month.

The rise in oil-fueled vehicle market share was partially driven by the early onset of the Chinese New Year holiday, which fell at the end of January this year. As a result, the pre-holiday car buying surge occurred earlier in the month, with many consumers opting for oil-fueled vehicles due to their stable range performance and convenient refueling for long-distance travel. Additionally, many buyers traveling home for the holiday were from lower-tier cities and rural areas, where charging infrastructure remains limited. In northern China, the impact of low winter temperatures further reduced electric vehicle (EV) range, making oil-fueled vehicles a more practical choice.

This winter, the presence of La Niña led to abnormal north winds in eastern China, causing lower-than-usual precipitation and relatively mild temperatures, which dampened overall vehicle demand. Although China's vehicle scrappage and trade-in policy for 2024 officially concluded, the grace period in January this year still allowed consumers to benefit from related incentives. However, since the Chinese New Year holiday arrived earlier this year, many consumers had already completed their car purchases by the end of 2024, leading to a weaker-than-usual market in January. Furthermore, with the month having at least four fewer effective sales days over the year-ago period, negative growth in retail sales was largely within expectations.

Historically, the pre-Chinese New Year period is a low production and shipment phase for automakers, as retailers focus on clearing inventory amid strong consumer demand. Given the high base from January 2024, some manufacturers, after meeting their 2024 performance targets, strategically allocated a portion of their sales to January 2025 to support local economic growth and ensure a strong start to the new year.

Regarding January registrations of domestically made PVs, 11 out of the top 20 brands were China's self-owned ones, with BYD, Geely, Changan, Chery, Wuling, Galaxy, Haval, Hongqi, XPENG, JETOUR, and Li Auto making the list. Five of these brands ranked in the top 10.

Surpassing BYD, Volkswagen reclaimed the top spot with 190,958 vehicles registered in the month. Of these, oil-fueled vehicle models accounted for 184,556 units, or 96.65% of its total, while NEVs made up just 3.35%, consisting of 520 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and 5,882 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).

Among Volkswagen's joint ventures in China, SAIC Volkswagen took the lead with 109,372 units registered in the month, followed by FAW-Volkswagen with 80,757 units. Additionally, Volkswagen Anhui—the joint venture with JAC Motors—had 829 units registered, all of which were from the ID. UNYX, a pure electric coupe SUV hitting the market in mid-July 2024. Priced between 209,900 yuan and 249,900 yuan, the model expands Volkswagen’s ID. lineup in China.

After holding the top spot for 10 consecutive months, BYD slipped to second place in January. Of the BYD-branded vehicles registered this month, PHEVs and BEVs took share of 66.17% and 33.83%, respectively.

The BYD brand saw 30 models contribute to its total registrations in January, two more than in December 2024. Notably, eight models exceeded 10,000 units in monthly registrations, while the BYD Xia, a flagship MPV going on sale on January 8, recorded 2,767 units in its debut month.

On the new product front, BYD offered global audiences the first glimpse of its two key flagship models—the Han L and Tang L—on January 17. Both are set to hit the market in spring 2025, further strengthening BYD's product lineup.

Geely, Changan, and Chery brands ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, each surpassing 70,000-unit registrations. Wuling, in contrast, dropped five spots from December to rank tenth.

Among other NEV-focused indigenous brands, Li Auto, Galaxy, and Leapmotor secured the 13th, 14th, and 20th positions, respectively. However, AITO, which ranked 20th in December 2024, did not make the list this month.

The three major Japanese brands—Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—ranked 3rd, 7th, and 13th, respectively. Despite offering NEVs in China, their sales remained largely reliant on oil-fueled vehicles, with NEVs accounting for less than 3% of their January registrations.

Tesla, the only wholly foreign-owned brand in the top 20, ranked 17th with 33,766 units registered, dropping eight places from December.

Among the German premium trio, Audi led at the eighth place, with the A6L and Q5L each surpassing 10,000-unit registrations in January. Mercedes-Benz followed at ninth, with three models—the E-Class, GLC, and C-Class—exceeding the 10,000-unit mark. BMW, ranking 12th, had only the 3 Series reach this mark.

SAIC-GM's Buick brand secured the 16th spot with a registration volume of 34,616 vehicles, with the Envision (10,606 units) and GL8 (8,536 units) as its top-selling models.

In January 2025, oil-fueled vehicles saw a notable resurgence among China's top 20 PV models by insurance registrations. Four of the top five models—the Volkswagen Passat (1st), Lavida (2nd), Sagitar (3rd), and the Geely Xingyue L (5th)—were dominated by oil-fueled variants.

The highest-ranking new energy vehicle (NEV) model was Tesla's Model Y, which secured the fourth place among all PV models. Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s SU7 and Geely's Galaxy Xingyuan, both of which are BEVs, ranked sixth and seventh, respectively.

BYD did not have any models in the top 10 PV model rankings. Its highest-ranking vehicle, the Qin PLUS, placed 12th, followed by the Song PLUS (13th), Seal 06 (14th), and Seagull (18th).

Among the German trio, the only model to make the top 20 PV model list was the Audi A6L, which recorded over 20,000-unit registrations in January, securing the 11th spot.

At the city level, 10 cities on the Chinese Mainland registered over 30,000 domestically produced PVs in January. Seven cities surpassed 40,000-unit registrations, with Chengdu took the lead with over 50,000 vehicles registered. Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Zhengzhou followed in the second to fourth places.

In January 2025, the homemade new energy passenger vehicle (NEPV) registrations on the Chinese Mainland reached 704,396 units, marking a 6.69% year-on-year increase. However, partly due to the Chinese New Year holiday, the registrations plummeted by 45.47% from a month earlier.

Among the NEPVs registered, BEVs continued to dominate, making up 55.43% of the total. PHEVs accounted for 33.31%, while range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) made up 11.25%.

When ranked by January's NEPV registration numbers, the top 20 brands were dominated by China's local ones, with Tesla being the only non-Chinese brand at the fourth place. BYD retained its leading position, with its January registrations surpassing the combined total of the second to sixth-ranked brands. BYD Auto's premium brand, DENZA, ranked 16th with 11,463 units registered.

Huawei's Harmony lntelligent Mobility Alliance ("HIMA") secured two spots in the top 20, with AITO in the ninth place (unchanged month-on-month) and LUXEED rising three positions from December to 14th. XPENG, Li Auto, and Leapmotor claimed the fifth to seventh spots. Geely Holding had three brands in the top 20: Galaxy (2nd), Lynk & Co. (13th), and ZEEKR (15th).

Additionally, some NEV brands from Chinese legacy automakers also made their mark, such as GAC Group's AION, Changan's DEEPAL, and Dongfeng Motor's VOYAH, which all ranked in the lower half of the top 20.

When considering the top 20 NEPV models by January's registration figures, BYD and DENZA held 11 spots, with five models making the top 10, though none cracked the top three. The highest-registered NEPV model in January was Tesla's Model Y, followed by the Xiaomi SU7 and the Geely Galaxy Xingyuan in the second and third places.

Geely's Galaxy Starship 7, which hit the market in early December last year, ranked 12th with 15,304 units registered, rising six spots from its December position. Two models from HIMA, the AITO M9 and the LUXEED R7, ranked 16th and 17th, respectively.

Among cities on the Chinese Mainland, Guangzhou took the top spot with 22,944 NEPVs registered in January, accounting for 49.92% of the city's total PV registrations. Shenzhen followed in the second place with 22,185 units, which made up 62.48% of the city's local market. Both cities, located in Guangdong Province in South China, benefited from milder winter temperatures, which avoided the issue of reduced battery range commonly seen in colder northern regions, making NEVs especially attractive to consumers during this period.