September: 1.3 million BEVs sold in China

In China, September became a new record month for BEV sales: never before have so many been sold by the country, both domestically and abroad. 1.82 million plug-in vehicles (including hybrids and range extenders) were sold – accounting for over 60 per cent of all new vehicles last month.

Image: Geely

In September, three out of every five vehicles sold in China featured a plug as new energy vehicle (NEV) market penetration moderately rose to 61.6 per cent. While the NEV share of total sales in China is no longer increasing sharply – but rather, gradually – the composition within the NEV segment has shifted significantly in favour of battery-electric vehicles. BEV sales thus climbed to 1.28 million units – a new record. This represents a 21 per cent year-on-year increase and a 10 per cent increase compared to August.

According to wholesale figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the previous month was full of superlatives: the 1.82 million plug-in vehicles are closing in on the record set in November 2025, when a similar number of electric cars and plug-in hybrids were recorded in the statistics. Given the upward trend in the final months of the past two years, it is not unlikely that China could still surpass the two-million NEV mark on a monthly basis before the end of this year.

In addition to BEVs driving growth, exports of plug-in vehicles also reached a new high: 571,000 units were sold abroad in September. Exports now account for nearly one-third (31.3 per cent) of all NEV sales. Meanwhile, partially electrified vehicles and domestic sales are showing stagnant or declining figures.

Let’s break it down step by step. China’s NEV sales in September increased by 13.6 per cent year-over-year and by 11 per cent compared to August, reaching the aforementioned 1.82 million units. This figure includes both passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The primary growth driver remains BEVs, with 1.28 million units sold (+21 per cent year-over-year, +10 per cent compared to August), while plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales stagnated at 546,000 units (±0 per cent year-over-year, +13.3 per cent compared to August).

Looking at the first nine months of the year, NEV sales grew 11.1 per cent to approximately 12.5 million units. The average NEV share of total sales after three quarters within the current year stands at 53.6 per cent, primarily due to a weak start to the year. Since July, however, NEV penetration has consistently exceeded 60 per cent on a monthly basis.

The undeniable driver of this still enormous growth is the export of plug-in vehicles, which surged to 571,000 units in September – a 160 per cent increase year-over-year and an 8.6 per cent increase compared to August. The September figure represents a new record. Another interesting point: for the fourth consecutive month, plug-in vehicles accounted for more than half of all exports. In September, the figure was 54 per cent. According to CAAM statistics, cumulative NEV exports in the first nine months of the year reached exactly four million units, which is 130 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Breaking down the exports by drivetrain, September saw 352,000 BEVs exported (+130 per cent year-over-year) and 219,000 PHEVs exported (+220 per cent year-over-year). The growth in part-time electric vehicles is therefore even more dynamic. Against this backdrop, Europe has recently negotiated an import restriction for hybrids and PHEVs with China.

Conversely, the Chinese domestic market continued to shrink – a phenomenon that has been observed for months. Domestic NEV sales in September fell by 9.4 per cent year-over-year to 1.25 million units, although they increased by 12 per cent compared to August. In the first nine months of the year, domestic sales totalled 8.47 million units according to CAAM figures—a decline of 10.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.