Gasgoo Munich- The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released its latest production and sales figures on March 11.
Data shows auto production and sales in February 2026 reached 1.672 million and 1.805 million units, respectively — down 31.7% and 23.1% from January, and 20.5% and 15.2% from a year earlier. For the first two months combined, output and sales stood at 4.122 million and 4.152 million units, sliding 9.5% and 8.8% year-on-year.
Image Credit: CAAM
Looking at industry performance over the first two months, auto output and sales declined year-on-year, weighed down by a mix of factors: policy adjustments, front-loaded demand, the timing of the Spring Festival holiday, weak consumer sentiment, and a high base from the previous year.
Breaking it down by category, passenger vehicle production and sales came in at 1.4 million and 1.536 million units in February, falling 32.1% and 22.7% month-on-month and 21.6% and 15.4% year-on-year. For the January-to-February period, cumulative output and sales hit 3.462 million and 3.524 million units, down 12% and 10.7%, respectively.
Notably, among internal combustion passenger cars, sales of the volume-leading A-segment models totaled 1.079 million units in the first two months, an 8.4% drop. In contrast, sales of A00- to A-segment new energy passenger vehicles all fell to varying degrees, with demand now concentrated in the B-segment. B-segment cumulative sales reached 506,000 units, up 9.4%. This suggests consumers in the EV space are gravitating toward mid-to-high-end models with longer range and smarter features — a sign the market is shifting from "policy-driven" growth to "product-driven" demand.
Image Credit: CAAM
Commercial vehicle production and sales stood at 273,000 and 269,000 units in February, slipping 29.7% and 24.9% from the prior month and 14.1% and 14% from a year ago. Natural gas commercial vehicle sales, meanwhile, plunged 42.6% month-on-month and 41.1% year-on-year to 13,000 units.
For the first two months, commercial vehicle output and sales reached 660,000 and 627,000 units, rising 7% and 3.9% year-on-year. Natural gas commercial vehicle sales edged down 0.3% to 36,000 units.
Turning to the new energy vehicle market, production and sales hit 694,000 and 765,000 units in February, down 21.8% and 14.2% respectively. NEV sales accounted for 42.4% of total new vehicle sales.
In the January-to-February period, NEV output and sales totaled 1.735 million and 1.71 million units, falling 8.8% and 6.9% year-on-year. New energy vehicles made up 41.2% of total new vehicle sales during the period.
