- BYD narrowly retained its position as China's largest NEV maker by retail sales, though its lead over Geely was only 0.3 percentage points.
- Tesla's January retail sales in China were the lowest since November 2022, partly due to a significant surge in exports from its Shanghai factory.
| Ranking | Automaker | NEV Sales | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYD | 94,176 | 15.8% |
| 2 | Geely | 92,135 | 15.5% |
| 3 | HIMA | 57,915 | 9.7% |
| 4 | Seres | 40,016 | 6.7% |
| 5 | Xiaomi EV | 39,002 | 6.5% |
| 6 | Changan | 31,122 | 5.2% |
| 7 | Li Auto | 27,668 | 4.6% |
| 8 | Nio | 27,061 | 4.5% |
| 9 | Dongfeng | 22,035 | 3.7% |
| 10 | GAC Aion | 21,297 | 3.6% |
BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) retained its position as China's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) maker in January, while Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) once again fell out of the top 10 in retail sales.
BYD sold 94,176 passenger NEVs in China in January, down 53.0% year-on-year, according to rankings released Saturday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The company maintained its top position with a 15.8% NEV market share in January, down from 25.4% in December 2025.
Tesla did not appear in the top 10 NEV retail sales ranking. In October 2025, it fell out of China's NEV retail top 10 for the first time in three years.
Subsequently, in November and December, the company re-entered the top 10 with market shares of 5.5% and 7.0%, respectively.
Tesla's January retail sales in China came in at 18,485 units, the lowest since November 2022, marking a 45.15% year-on-year decline, according to data released earlier this month by the CPCA.
This partly resulted from Tesla's Shanghai plant exporting 50,644 vehicles in January — the second-highest on record, trailing only October 2022's 54,504 units.
Geely Auto (HKG: 0175, OTCMKTS: GELYF) recorded NEV retail sales of 92,135 units in January, down 21.6% year-on-year.
Geely ranked second in the NEV market with a 15.5% market share, narrowing the gap with BYD to just 0.3 percentage points.
Huawei's HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) business recorded NEV retail sales of 57,915 units in January, a 65.5% year-on-year increase, securing third place with a 9.7% NEV market share.
In China, NEVs include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and fuel cell vehicles.
BYD, Geely, and brands under the HIMA umbrella produce both BEVs and PHEVs, while Tesla only manufactures BEVs.
Xiaomi EV ranked fifth in the NEV top 10 list with retail sales of 39,002 units and a 6.5% market share.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI, HKG: 2015) ranked seventh with 27,668 retail sales and a 4.6% share.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) ranked eighth with 27,061 retail sales and a 4.5% share.
In the overall passenger vehicle market including traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, Geely ranked first in retail sales in January with a 13.6% market share.
FAW-Volkswagen ranked second with sales of 132,300 units and an 8.6% market share.
BYD ranked third with a 6.1% market share.
| Ranking | Automaker | Sales | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geely | 209,661 | 13.6% |
| 2 | FAW-Volkswagen | 132,300 | 8.6% |
| 3 | BYD | 94,176 | 6.1% |
| 4 | SAIC-Volkswagen | 89,600 | 5.8% |
| 5 | Changan | 81,074 | 5.2% |
| 6 | Chery | 78,079 | 5.1% |
| 7 | FAW Toyota | 64,929 | 4.2% |
| 8 | GAC Toyota | 63,648 | 4.1% |
| 9 | HIMA | 57,915 | 3.7% |
| 10 | BMW Brilliance | 50,504 | 3.3% |
