Vehicle sales in the country fall in January, but Geely and Huawei's car division counter the scenario of retraction
The Chinese automotive market, the largest in the world, started 2026 with a turnaround at the top of its ranking. Contrary to BYD’s recent hegemony, Geely took the absolute lead in sales in January, in a period marked by a generalized slowdown in the sector across the country.
Retail sales of passenger vehicles in China totaled 1.54 million units, which represents a significant drop of 13.9% compared to the same month of the previous year (in addition to a drop of almost a third compared to December’s volume).
In this scenario of retraction, Geely stood out by registering 210 thousand cars in retail – a comfortable advantage over the second place, the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture (132 thousand). In direct sales, Geely also reigned, with 270 thousand vehicles passed on to dealerships (a slight annual increase of 1.3%). To sustain momentum, the automaker confirmed its goal of selling 3.45 million cars in the year, with the promise of launching one or two new models every quarter.
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The most sensitive setback in January was felt by BYD. The electrified giant saw its retail sales collapse 53%, falling from about 200 thousand registrations at the beginning of last year to only 94 thousand, embittering the third position in the domestic market. The fall was not worse in wholesale sales, where it secured the overall second place (206 thousand units), just ahead of Chery (194 thousand).
At the opposite end, the disruptive highlight was HIMA. The electrified vehicle startup powered by tech giant Huawei posted a remarkable 65.5% jump in retail, breaking the barrier of China’s top 10 best-selling automakers for the first time with 58,000 units.
The balance also highlighted the vital weight of exports to mitigate domestic declines. SAIC Motor advanced 53.6% in wholesale, boosted by the good international phase of the MG brand. In an identical move, Tesla added 69,000 vehicles (+9.3%), with shipments from its Shanghai factory ensuring numbers in the black while local consumption slips.
