Gasgoo Munich- China's passenger vehicle (PV) retail market came under renewed pressure in April, with nationwide retail sales falling to 1.384 million units, down 21.5% year-on-year and 16.0% from March, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Cumulative PV retail sales for the January-April period reached 5.604 million vehicles, representing an 18.5% decline from a year earlier.
For clarity, the PVs mentioned here are all locally produced on the Chinese Mainland.
The CPCA commented that the April market reflected a complex landscape characterized by weakening overall demand alongside increasingly pronounced structural divergence across powertrain segments and brand categories.
The market this year has been shaped by several overlapping factors, including adjustments to new energy vehicle purchase tax incentives, subdued consumer confidence, and persistently high fuel prices. As a result, China's PV sector has evolved into a pattern marked by slowing domestic demand, rapidly expanding exports, shrinking gasoline vehicle sales, and continued dominance by new energy vehicles.
High fuel costs have dealt a particularly heavy blow to the domestic retail performance of internal combustion engine vehicles, significantly weighing on the pace of market recovery. During the first two months of the year, fuel-powered vehicle retail sales declined by 740,000 units year-on-year, accounting for 40% of the total contraction in PV retail volume. In March, gasoline vehicle sales fell by another 345,000 units, representing 52% of the overall retail decline, while April saw a further year-on-year drop of 365,000 units, accounting for 84% of the market's retail contraction that month.
Against a backdrop of rising cost concerns, consumers have increasingly shifted toward electric and electrified vehicles, deepening the divide between the "oil" and "electric" segments of the market. Export dynamics, however, have moved in the opposite direction. Fuel-powered vehicle exports rose by 100,000 units year-on-year in both the January-February period and March, contributing 25% and 32% respectively to overall PV export growth. In April, oil-fueled vehicle exports increased by 130,000 units, accounting for 38% of export growth.
Industry efforts to curb excessive price competition have also contributed to a more stable promotional environment in recent months. With the scale of vehicle price cuts moderating, some consumers who had previously delayed purchases in anticipation of deeper discounts have gradually returned to the market.
The Auto China 2026, held in April and now widely regarded as the world's largest automotive exhibition, also helped stimulate market sentiment and supported a sales rebound in the latter part of the month thanks to its extensive industry influence and high concentration of new model launches.
Retail sales of Chinese domestic brands totaled 970,000 units in April, down 16% year-on-year and 5% from March. Despite the decline, local automakers increased their domestic retail market share to 69.6%, up four percentage points from a year earlier.
Chinese brands continued to show relatively stable performance in both the new energy vehicle and export markets. Traditional automakers undergoing electrification and intelligent transformation, including Geely and Changan Automobile, posted notable gains in market share.
Mainstream joint-venture brands continued to face mounting pressure in April, with retail sales falling to 280,000 units, down 37% year-on-year and 33% month-on-month.
German brands accounted for 13.3% of the retail market, down 2.2 percentage points from a year earlier, while Japanese brands saw their share decline 1.2 percentage points to 10.9%. U.S. brands held a 4.5% retail market share, down 0.3 percentage points year-on-year, while Korean brands also recorded a slight decline.
Luxury PV retail sales reached 140,000 units in April, declining 16% year-on-year and 33% from March. However, as pricing strategies among premium automakers gradually normalized, luxury brands increased their retail market share to 10.2%, up 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier, suggesting that the traditional premium PV market may be stabilizing.
PV wholesale volume in April totaled 2.11 million units nationwide, down 4.0% year-on-year and 11.3% month-on-month. Supported by surging exports, wholesale performance outpaced retail trends significantly, with wholesale growth running 17.5 percentage points ahead of retail growth on a year-on-year basis.
Wholesale volume by Chinese domestic automakers reached 1.59 million units, up 3% from a year earlier despite a 1% month-on-month decline. Mainstream joint-venture brands posted wholesale volume of 310,000 units, down 30% year-on-year and 38% from March, while luxury brands wholesaled 210,000 vehicles, down 2% year-on-year and 23% month-on-month.
The wholesale ranking among major passenger vehicle manufacturers continued to shift in April, with automakers including Chery, Geely, SAIC MOTOR Passenger Vehicle, Great Wall Motor, Tesla China, Leapmotor, GAC Toyota, Dongfeng Motor, GAC AION, Xiaomi EV, Li Auto, and Seres all achieving year-on-year wholesale growth.
Only four passenger vehicle manufacturers recorded monthly wholesale sales exceeding 100,000 units in April, compared with five in March and four in the same period last year. These top-tier manufacturers accounted for 42% of the overall market, unchanged from a year earlier but slightly below March's 44% share. Automakers with wholesale volume between 50,000 and 100,000 units accounted for 25% of the market, while those in the 10,000-50,000-unit range represented 31%.
For the Jan.-Apr. Period of the year, China's PV wholesales amounted to 7.976 million units, falling 6.1% over a year earlier.
According to CPCA data, China exported 769,000 passenger vehicles in April, including both complete vehicles and CKD shipments, representing an 80.7% year-on-year surge and an 11.8% rise from March. Exports accounted for 36% of total passenger vehicle manufacturer sales during the month, up sharply from 29% in March and 19% in the same period last year.
New energy vehicles represented 52.7% of total passenger vehicle exports in April, an increase of eight percentage points year-on-year. Exports by Chinese domestic brands reached 653,000 units, surging 91% from a year earlier, while joint-venture and luxury brands exported 117,000 vehicles, up 39%.
China's PV production totaled 2.193 million units in April, slipping 1.8% year-on-year and 7.2% from the previous month, reflecting continued pressure on overall market demand.
Production among luxury brands declined 10% compared with the same period last year and fell 26% month-on-month. Joint-venture brands also remained under strain, with output dropping 14% year-on-year and 25% from March. In contrast, Chinese domestic automakers maintained relative resilience, posting a 3% year-on-year increase and a 2% month-on-month gain in vehicle production.
New energy PV production reached 1.209 million units in April, rising 4.7% year-on-year and 7.6% from the previous month, underscoring the sector's continued role as the industry's primary growth engine.
For the first four months of the year, cumulative new energy PV production stood at 3.913 million units, down 4.2% from a year earlier.
Wholesale volume of new energy PVs climbed to 1.225 million units in April, representing a 7.5% increase year-on-year and a 7% rise from March.
Between January and April, cumulative wholesale volume for new energy PV reached 3.953 million units, down 1.1% year-on-year.
Retail sales of new energy PVs totaled 849,000 units in April, declining 6.8% from a year earlier and edging down 0.3% month-on-month, indicating that consumer demand remained softer despite ongoing electrification momentum.
During the January-April period, cumulative retail sales of new energy PVs reached 2.758 million units, down 17.2% year-on-year.
Exports continued to be the strongest growth driver for China's NEV sector. In April, automakers exported 406,000 new energy PVs, surging 111.8% year-on-year and 18.3% from March.
For the first four months of 2026, cumulative new energy PV exports reached 1.306 million units, marking a sharp 118.7% increase compared with the same period last year.
