On September 8, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released its latest monthly passenger vehicle market analysis. Data shows that China's passenger vehicle retail sales reached 19.95 million units in August 2025, representing a 4.6% year-over-year increase and an 8.2% month-over-month growth. Among these, new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales totaled 11.01 million units, up 7.5% year-over-year and 11.6% month-over-month.
For the first eight months of 2025, cumulative national passenger vehicle retail sales reached 147.41 million units, up 9.5% year-over-year. NEV cumulative retail sales hit 75.56 million units, surging 25.8% compared to the same period last year.
According to CPCA's domestic automaker retail sales rankings, the top ten manufacturers by August retail sales were: BYD Auto, GEELY AUTO, Changan Automobile, FAW-Volkswagen, Chery Automobile, SAIC Volkswagen, FAW Toyota, SAIC-GM-Wuling, GAC Toyota, and Great Wall Motor.
From the overall rankings, most listed manufacturers experienced year-over-year declines in August, with only four companies achieving year-over-year growth: GEELY AUTO, Changan Automobile, GAC Toyota, and Great Wall Motor.
BYD Auto continued to dominate the domestic market with commanding leadership in August, remaining the only automaker with monthly sales exceeding 300,000 units at 310,000 vehicles. However, this represented an 18.3% year-over-year decline, with a market share of 15.5%. Currently, BYD has deployed four major brands in the NEV market: BYD, Denza, Fangchengbao, and Yangwang. Despite this extensive portfolio, BYD faces growth pressure amid increasingly fierce competition in the NEV industry. The launch of more new models throughout the year may help boost BYD's sales performance. Notably, the Fangchengbao Bao 7 will be launched tomorrow as the second model in the Bao series, positioned as a mid-to-large SUV with a 2+3 five-seat layout, powered by a 1.5T plug-in hybrid system available in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive versions.
GEELY AUTO and Changan Automobile ranked second and third respectively, with August sales of 214,000 and 122,000 units, representing year-over-year increases of 57.2% and 24.4% respectively. GEELY AUTO achieved the highest growth rate among all ranked manufacturers. As a representative of traditional automakers' transition to intelligent new energy, GEELY AUTO's NEV transformation has shown initial success, with continuously rising NEV sales ratios. Particularly since the establishment of Geely Galaxy in February 2023, the Galaxy series' strong performance has driven GEELY AUTO's sales growth. According to plans, Geely Galaxy will launch two new models this year: the Xingyao 6 and Galaxy M9. Additionally, GEELY AUTO's sales growth benefits from continued expansion in overseas markets.
Great Wall Motor also achieved growth in August, with sales increasing 38.8% year-over-year to 62,000 units, ranking tenth with the second-highest growth rate after GEELY AUTO.
In contrast, Chery Automobile experienced a decline in August sales, dropping 2.2% year-over-year to 108,000 units and ranking fifth. Chery is currently working to consolidate and expand its market share while accelerating overseas localized production. On August 29, Chery submitted its IPO prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to recent reports, Hong Kong Stock Exchange documents show that Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. has officially passed the Hong Kong listing hearing, marking further progress in Chery's listing process.
Regarding joint venture manufacturers, both northern and southern Volkswagen entities experienced year-over-year declines in August. FAW-Volkswagen fell 12.7% year-over-year to 112,000 units, ranking fourth, while SAIC Volkswagen dropped 10.0% year-over-year to 90,000 units, ranking sixth.
Among Japanese joint venture automakers, only FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota made the top ten in August, ranking seventh and ninth respectively. FAW Toyota declined 2.7% year-over-year to 70,000 units, while GAC Toyota increased 4.8% year-over-year to 66,000 units. Dongfeng Nissan, GAC Honda, and Dongfeng Honda all fell out of the rankings.
Beyond these brands, SAIC-GM-Wuling ranked eighth in August with sales declining 8.0% year-over-year to 69,000 units.
CPCA data shows that mainstream joint venture brands achieved retail sales of 4.7 million units in August, down 2% year-over-year but up 2% month-over-month. German brands held a 14.2% retail market share, down 2.4% year-over-year; Japanese brands maintained a 12.5% retail share, down 0.1% year-over-year; while American brands captured a 6% retail market share, up 0.2% year-over-year.
In contrast, Chinese domestic brands' market share continued climbing, with August retail sales reaching 13.2 million units, up 9% year-over-year and 8.6% month-over-month. Driven by leading manufacturers including BYD Auto, GEELY AUTO, Changan Automobile, and Chery Automobile, domestic brands' retail market share climbed to 65.7%, up 2.3% year-over-year.
In summary, driven by the new energy vehicle wave, both domestic and joint venture brands face unprecedented transformation pressure. Currently, domestic brands have secured a significant market position, while joint venture brands focused primarily on fuel vehicles are gradually seeing their market share replaced by NEVs. Simply put, in today's continuously evolving automotive industry, only companies that actively embrace change can achieve long-term success.
The above represents the top ten domestic automotive manufacturers for August. CPCA noted that August retail sales reached new highs, increasing 3.7% compared to the historical peak of 19.2 million units in August 2023, showing a gradually stabilizing growth trend. Regarding September market expectations, CPCA indicated that since the Mid-Autumn Festival falls in September this year versus during the National Day holiday in 2024, September market activity is expected to be higher this year.