Data from CAAM show that in August 2026, China's new energy vehicle sales reached 1.643 million units, up 17.8% year on year, accounting for 60.6% of total vehicle sales. Of these, exports were 526,000 units, up about 130% year on year, while domestic sales were 1.118 million units, down 4.6% year on year, intensifying the divergence between domestic and external demand. During the same period, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and nine other departments issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for intelligent connected new energy vehicles, proposing that by 2030 new energy vehicles account for 70% of new passenger vehicle sales and 40% of new commercial vehicle sales, and strengthening capacity monitoring, mergers and reorganizations, and supervision of competitive order, which will continue to affect the pace of domestic consolidation and overseas expansion in the industry.
August: Exports up about 130% year-on-year, domestic demand under sustained pressure
CAAM data shows that in August 2026 China's NEV sales reached 1.643 million units, up 17.8% year-on-year and 5.3% month-on-month, matching the year's high set in June; they accounted for 60.6% of total vehicle sales, above 60.4% in July and 48.8% a year earlier, marking a second consecutive month above 60%. NEV production that month was 1.653 million units, up 18.9% year-on-year.
Growth was concentrated in BEVs. BEV sales in August were 1.161 million units, up 27.8% year-on-year and 8.3% month-on-month, a new high for the year; PHEV sales were 482,000 units, down 0.9% year-on-year and 1.4% month-on-month, returning to decline after two consecutive months of year-on-year growth.
Breaking down domestic and external demand, the trends diverged clearly. NEV exports in August totaled 526,000 units, up about 130% year-on-year; although down 5% month-on-month, they still accounted for about 52.1% of the month's vehicle exports, exceeding half for a third consecutive month. Domestic sales in the same period were 1.118 million units, down 4.6% year-on-year and up 10.9% month-on-month. Of that, domestic NEV passenger vehicle sales were 1.015 million units, down 8.2% year-on-year; NEV commercial vehicle sales were 103,000 units, up 56.6% year-on-year.
In the first eight months, cumulative NEV sales were 10.65 million units, up 10.7% year-on-year, accounting for 52.4% of total vehicle sales; of these, exports were 3.435 million units, up 124.3% year-on-year, while domestic sales were 7.215 million units, down 10.8% year-on-year.
The overall market remained in contraction. August vehicle sales were 2.712 million units, down 5.1% year-on-year and up 4.9% month-on-month. Domestic vehicle sales were 1.701 million units, down 24.2% year-on-year, the fifth consecutive month of declines exceeding 20%; domestic sales of traditional fuel vehicles were 584,000 units, down 45.7% year-on-year. NEVs' share of domestic sales rose to 65.7%. Vehicle exports in August were 1.01 million units, up 65.3% year-on-year and above one million for a third straight month, but down 3.2% month-on-month; exports in the first eight months were 7.153 million units, up 66.7% year-on-year, while total vehicle sales in the same period were 20.315 million units, down 3.8% year-on-year. CAAM attributed the monthly rebound in production and sales to expanded car-purchase subsidies in many regions and automaker promotions.
15th Five-Year Plan: 70% passenger vehicles, 40% commercial vehicles by 2030
Against the backdrop of exports offsetting domestic demand, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and eight other departments jointly released in September the 15th Five-Year Plan for the intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry, laying out a roadmap for 2026–2030; the document is dated September 9.
On targets, the plan proposes that by 2030 NEVs account for 70% of domestic new passenger vehicle sales and 40% of new commercial vehicle sales, and that vehicles with autonomous driving capabilities be deployed at scale. On technology, the plan specifies achieving highly automated driving by 2030 on expressways, urban expressways, and some city roads, requires that vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems be significantly safer than human drivers, and calls for establishing technology maturity and safety assessment mechanisms. Commercialization paths include demonstration operations of autonomous passenger vehicles, buses, long-haul logistics, and urban delivery, with orderly progress on vehicle market access and road operation. On infrastructure, the plan calls for accelerating digital and connected upgrades in key first- and second-tier cities and on some national highways to support vehicle-road-cloud integration.
Other quantitative targets include: by 2030, average electricity consumption of about 11.5 kWh/100 km for battery electric passenger vehicles and average fuel consumption of 3.3 liters/100 km for passenger vehicles; labor productivity up 15% from 2025; and fostering a number of automakers in the global top 10 by sales and suppliers in the global top 100. Key technology development areas listed include automotive chips, operating systems, industrial software, and critical basic materials, while batteries focus on safety, charging speed, and low-temperature performance. The plan also proposes an 'AI + Automobiles' initiative and promotes connectivity between vehicles and intelligent robots and smart homes.
Capacity monitoring and M&A: variables in the pace of expansion
The plan places considerable emphasis on the supply side: strengthening monitoring and regulation of vehicle and battery capacity, tightening conditions for new standalone NEV vehicle manufacturer projects, and strengthening battery capacity management; advancing automaker mergers and reorganizations and cross-regional consolidation through market- and law-based means, phasing out outdated and inefficient capacity, and raising overall capacity utilization.
On competitive order, the plan calls for stronger antitrust, anti-unfair competition, and price enforcement, and for curbing improper local investment solicitation through unauthorized subsidies, tax incentives, and land policies; it also calls for tighter oversight of industry data disclosure and corporate accounts payable, opposes improper market intervention, and seeks to accelerate building a unified national market.
The overseas expansion provisions also deserve attention. The plan supports international operations through trade, investment, and technology cooperation, encourages cross-brand sharing of overseas warehouses for key components, and pilots cross-border data flow cooperation; it encourages Chinese and foreign companies to deepen cooperation in R&D and investment in complete vehicles and key components, while requiring equal treatment of domestic and foreign-funded enterprises in government procurement and other activities. Related guidelines also state that automakers should avoid frequent, large overseas price changes and respect local dealers' pricing autonomy.
September start: retail penetration at 71.5%, price pressure still transmitting
CPCA data shows that from September 1–6, NEV passenger vehicle retail sales were 150,000 units, down 3% year-on-year and up 15% month-on-month, with retail penetration at 71.5%, higher than 61.6% in the first week of August; overall passenger vehicle retail sales in the same period were 210,000 units, down 19% year-on-year. NEV passenger vehicle wholesale sales were 156,000 units, up 2% year-on-year and 20% month-on-month, with wholesale penetration at 75.1%. Year to date, NEV retail sales were 6.824 million units, down 12% year-on-year; wholesale sales were 9.934 million units, up 9% year-on-year.
The CPCA noted that September marks the traditional 'Golden September and Silver October' peak season, showroom traffic is expected to continue recovering, and the improvement in the August manufacturing PMI and stable consumer prices support the auto market, but rush buying ahead of subsidy expirations in some regions in September 2025 raised the year-earlier base. On exports, CPCA statistics show August vehicle exports were 1.05 million units, up 37% year-on-year and down 4% month-on-month; in the first eight months they were 7.45 million units, up 51% year-on-year.
Notably, the CPCA mentioned that upstream raw material prices have eased somewhat and industry consensus on curbing excessive competition has strengthened, but price pressure is transmitting to the vehicle manufacturing segment, increasing operating pressure on dealers. For China's NEV industry—with domestic demand under pressure and exports surging—the capacity, restructuring, and competition enforcement framework set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan will continue to shape the pace of domestic consolidation and overseas expansion over the next five years.
