ECG — 2026-10-23
News from ECG
China New Finished Vehicle Exports
January to September 2026
Quarterly Update
Domestic Sales in China Continue to Fall
In September, a total of 2.9 million units of vehicles were produced in China, down 8.7% year on year. In the same month total sales hit 2.9 million, also down 8.4% y/y. Of this, domestic sales accounted for 1.9 million units, down 26% y/y – while exports hit 1.05 million units, up 61.5% y/y, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data shows.
On a year to date basis, new vehicle production in China has reached 23 million units, down 4.5% y/y in the January to September period, while sales have also reached 23 million and are also down 4.5 % y/y. Of this, domestic sales in China reached 15.06 million units in the first 9 months of the year, down a huge 22%. Exports meanwhile reached 8.2 million units, an astonishing increase of 67% y/y.
So, while domestic sales continue to drop within China, this is now putting additional pressure on exports to support total sales. In August month on month exports fell slightly, though this recovered in September.
NEV Exports Surge
New energy vehicles, which include battery electric vehicles and plug in hybrid electric vehicles, reached exports of 571,000 units in September, an increase of 157%, while internal combustion engine vehicle exports reached 482,000 units an increase of 12% y/y. NEV exports now account for 54% of monthly exports.
On a year-to-date basis, NEV exports in the January to September period reached 4 million units, up 131% y/y, while ICE exports reached 4.19 million, up 31.6% y/y.
Of the NEV exports, passenger vehicles account for 3.9 million units while NEV commercial vehicle exports reached 93,000 units. The majority of NEV are battery electric vehicles with 2.4 million units exported in the January to September period, though exports of plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are also up 148% to 1.5 million units exported.
Destination data and other details will follow as soon as this is released.
EU Passenger Car Imports from China
January to August 2026 Update
August Imports Surge 151% Y/Y
Passenger Car imports into the European Union from China have increased by 151% year on year in the month of August to 227,810 units, as per the latest data from Eurostat. For comparison, imports in August 2025 were only 90,498 units.
In the first 8 months of 2026, imports of passenger cars direct from China to the EU have now surpassed the full year 2025 volume. In the January to August period a total of 1,105,239 cars have been imported, while full year 2025 imports reached 1,011,563 units – the first-time passenger car imports exceeded 1 million in a calendar year.
Hybrid Passenger Car Imports Rise 177% in August
Hybrid passenger car imports into the EU from China have risen 177% y/y in August to 91,483 units, up from 32,925 units in 2025. Year to date, a total of 474,475 hybrid passenger cars have been imported into the EU, as per Eurostat data, up from a total of 303,066 in 2025.
Battery Electric Car imports Rise 177% in August
The month of August also saw battery electric passenger car imports to the EU from China rise by 177% y/y to 115,116 units. For comparison just 41,505 BEVs were imported into the EU in August 2025.
On a year-to-date basis, a total of 464,216 battery electric passenger cars have been imported, already 7.69% more than the full year import volumes in 2025 which reached 431,061.
Internal Combustion Engine passenger car imports Rise 32% in August
Internal combustion engined passenger cars saw 21,003 units imported into the EU from China in August, a 32.6% y/y increase. Overall in the first eight months of the year a total of 164,699 units of ICE cars have been imported compared with 273,886 in the whole of 2025.
Overall ICE imports in the passenger car segment account for only 15% of imports from China, while hybrids account for 43% and BEVs account for 42% in the first eight months of 2026.
For comparison, ten years ago ICE cars accounted for 77% of the passenger car imports from China – but the full year volume of ICE cars was under 100,000 units.
ECG Members can read the full report here.