Recent sales data for February indicates a changing competitive landscape in the automotive sector. Leapmotor has reclaimed the top sales position among new electric vehicle manufacturers, while BYD Company Limited saw its monthly sales fall below the significant 200,000-unit mark.

On March 1, several automakers disclosed their February sales figures, with an overall market "cooling" emerging as a key theme. Sales for BYD and SAIC in February decreased by 41.09% and 8.64% year-over-year, respectively. Notably, BYD's monthly sales reached 190,200 units, marking the first time in recent years that its monthly sales have dropped below the 200,000-unit threshold.

The competitive benchmark for leading new automakers in February lowered to 20,000 units. Among them, Leapmotor retook the monthly sales crown for new EV makers, delivering 28,100 vehicles.

The extended 2026 Spring Festival holiday period, combined with the new policy on purchase tax for new energy vehicles, were significant factors contributing to the general sales slowdown in February. The lengthy holiday substantially reduced effective production and sales days for the auto industry.

Although February is traditionally a low season for auto sales, some manufacturers still posted strong performances. For instance, Zeekr, the premium new energy vehicle brand under GEELY AUTO, reported a 70% year-over-year increase in sales, reaching 23,900 units for the month.

Looking ahead, the competitive landscape of the auto market appears fluid. Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, stated on his Weibo account: "The new-generation SU7 is currently in intensive preparation."

BYD's monthly sales dropped below the 200,000-unit mark, while GEELY AUTO and SAIC maintained their leading positions. Production and sales reports show that BYD's February sales were 190,200 units, down 41.09% year-over-year and 9.46% month-over-month.

This represents the first time in recent years that BYD's monthly sales have fallen below 200,000 units, and the company also failed to recapture titles such as the monthly sales champion among Chinese proprietary brands or domestic automakers. In January, BYD's sales were surpassed by both SAIC and GEELY AUTO, with the latter two securing the top spots for domestic automaker and Chinese proprietary brand monthly sales, respectively.

Analysis indicates a continued weakening of BYD's domestic sales. Estimates based on production and sales reports suggest that BYD's domestic sales in February were approximately 89,600 units, setting a new low for its recent monthly domestic sales performance.

Furthermore, BYD's domestic sales in February fell 64.98% compared to the same period last year and declined 18.23% from the previous month. This indicates a renewed expansion in the year-over-year decline rate for BYD's domestic monthly sales.

Since October 2025, BYD's domestic monthly sales have shown a downward trend, with year-over-year declines generally ranging between 20% and 30%. However, the decline accelerated to 53.22% in January 2026.

As a leading new energy vehicle enterprise, BYD has been impacted by the new purchase tax policy for NEVs. Effective January 1 this year, the purchase tax for domestic new energy vehicles changed from a full exemption to a halved levy (a tax rate of 5%).

Nevertheless, the impact of the new NEV purchase tax policy varies noticeably among major automakers. In February, SAIC's new energy vehicle sales were 71,300 units, down 17.18% year-over-year, while GEELY AUTO's NEV sales reached 117,500 units, an increase of 19.36% compared to the previous year.

Analyzing the change in GEELY AUTO's February NEV sales, sales of pure electric models decreased by 6% year-over-year to 67,800 units, while sales of plug-in hybrid models surged 89% to 49,700 units. From a brand perspective, Zeekr, GEELY AUTO's premium NEV brand, achieved sales of 23,900 units in February, a 70% year-over-year increase.

According to Zeekr, the brand has solidified its leading position in the premium new energy SUV market. The Zeekr 9X has been the sales champion in the large SUV segment priced above 500,000 yuan for three consecutive months, with cumulative deliveries exceeding 30,000 units.

The title for monthly sales champion among new automakers changed hands again, with NIO once more becoming the "growth leader." In February, Leapmotor retook the monthly sales crown among new EV makers with deliveries of 28,100 units.

Zhu Jiangming, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Leapmotor, stated, "In the past February, Leapmotor's deliveries continued to firmly position us within the first tier of new automakers."

Previously, Leapmotor had consecutively held the monthly sales champion title among new automakers, but Xiaomi broke this streak in January, claiming the top spot for the first time. Entering February, Xiaomi's deliveries exceeded 20,000 units but were surpassed by Leapmotor, which established a clear lead. In response, Lei Jun posted on Weibo, stating that Xiaomi's current primary model on sale is the YU7.

The YU7 is Xiaomi's first SUV model, launched in the second half of 2025. An industry insider noted that in the era of new energy vehicles, SUV models like the Tesla Model Y have become mainstream sellers.

Xiaomi has also achieved notable success in the sedan market. Previously, Xiaomi only sold the pure electric sedan model SU7, yet maintained monthly deliveries consistently above 10,000 units. From April 2024 to February 2026, cumulative deliveries for the first-generation SU7 exceeded 381,000 units.

Lei Jun has repeatedly indicated via Weibo that Xiaomi is intensively preparing the new-generation SU7. Xiaomi previously revealed that the new-generation SU7 is expected to launch in April 2026. This suggests that the competition for the monthly sales champion title among new automakers remains highly volatile, and Leapmotor faces significant challenges in maintaining its leading position.

In February, NIO again emerged as the "growth leader" among top new automakers, with deliveries surging 57.65% year-over-year to 20,800 units. Analysis suggests NIO's significant sales increase in February was primarily driven by its popular model, the all-new ES8. The all-new ES8, positioned as a full-scenario tech flagship SUV, has seen sales exceed 10,000 units for three consecutive months.

On February 27, the 70,000th all-new ES8 was delivered, achieving this milestone in just 160 days. NIO stated, "The golden era for pure electric large three-row SUVs has arrived."

Amidst the domestic market's challenges due to the Spring Festival holiday, several automakers reported substantial growth in overseas sales. For example, Chery Group's exports in February reached 124,900 units, up 41.5% year-over-year. This marks the tenth consecutive month that Chery's monthly exports have exceeded 100,000 units, making it the first Chinese automaker to achieve cumulative exports surpassing 6 million units.

Overseas markets have consistently been a strength for Chery Group. It took Chery only eight months to increase its cumulative exports from over 5 million units in June 2025 to over 6 million units by February 2026.

Recently, many automakers, responding to fierce domestic competition, have increased their focus on overseas markets, and these efforts appear to be yielding significant results. In February, overseas market sales for BYD, SAIC, GEELY AUTO, and Great Wall Motor were 100,600 units, 99,000 units, 60,900 units, and 42,700 units, respectively, all showing substantial year-over-year growth.

GEELY AUTO's gains were particularly notable, with its overseas sales in February surging 144.30% compared to the previous year. On February 24, Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Auto Group, stated in a Spring Festival message: "In the future, overseas business will be a key engine for Geely's sustained development."

According to its strategy, GEELY AUTO aims to achieve a transition from "Made in China" to a "Global Brand" by focusing on product export, brand internationalization, resource integration, and technology empowerment, ultimately establishing localized systemic capabilities in key markets.

Gan Jiayue emphasized that GEELY AUTO is shifting from "international trade" to a "product-oriented" approach, comprehensively advancing product adaptation and localized development to create globally benchmarked products.

As numerous Chinese automakers expand into overseas markets, some industry figures emphasize the importance of high-quality expansion. Chery Group stated that while continuously scaling its overseas presence, the company is accelerating its entry into high-regulation markets like Europe, demonstrating breakthroughs in both premium markets and new energy vehicle sectors.