• China's BEV retail sales reached a record 826,000 units in September, accounting for 63.7 percent of total NEV retail sales of 1.296 million units.
• Hybrid vehicles, including PHEVs and EREVs, recorded retail sales of 469,000 units in September, down 2.7 percent year-on-year.

China's passenger new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales saw robust growth in September as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) hit a record high.

The country's passenger NEV retail sales reached 1.296 million units in September, marking a 15.5 percent year-on-year increase and a 16.2 percent rise from August, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The figure is below the preliminary 1.307 million units reported by the CPCA earlier this month but exceeds its estimate of 1.25 million units released at the end of last month.

This marks the highest monthly passenger NEV retail sales volume in China this year and the second-highest on record, trailing only December 2024's 1.3 million units.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) continued robust growth, with September retail sales reaching 826,000 units -- surpassing the previous record of 762,000 units set in December 2024. This represents a 28.5 percent year-on-year increase and a 19.8 percent rise from August.

BEVs accounted for 63.7 percent of total NEV retail sales in September, up 1.4 percentage points from August's 62.3 percent.

Hybrid vehicles, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), recorded retail sales of 469,000 units in September, down 2.7 percent year-on-year but up 13.3 percent from August.

This marks the third consecutive month of year-on-year decline in hybrid vehicle retail sales, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

After excluding EREVs, PHEV retail sales were 360,000 units in September, accounting for 27.8 percent of NEV retail sales.

PHEV retail sales decreased by 0.1 percent year-on-year but increased by 12.5 percent compared to August.

EREV retail sales totaled 109,000 units in September, contributing 8.4 percent of NEV retail sales. This represents an 8.0 percent year-on-year decrease but a 4.2 percent increase compared to August.

China's passenger vehicle retail sales, including sedans, SUVs (sport utility vehicles), and MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles), reached 2.241 million units in September, marking a 6.3 percent year-on-year increase and an 11.0 percent rise from August.

NEV retail penetration in China reached 57.8 percent in September, up 5 percentage points year-on-year and up 2.6 percentage points from August.

Domestic brands achieved 78.1 percent NEV retail penetration in September, luxury brands reached 34.5 percent, and mainstream joint-venture brands recorded 7.4 percent.

China's passenger NEV wholesale sales reached 1.5 million units in September, up 22.4 percent year-on-year and up 15.9 percent month-on-month.

The NEV wholesale penetration rate in September was 53.5 percent, rising 4.4 percentage points year-on-year and 1.3 percentage points month-on-month.

Domestic Chinese brands achieved a 68.3 percent NEV wholesale penetration rate in September, compared to 40 percent for luxury brands and 6.6 percent for mainstream joint-venture brands.

Passenger NEVs exported from China reached 211,000 units in September, surging 96.5 percent year-on-year and rising 3.9 percent month-on-month, accounting for 40.1 percent of total passenger vehicle exports.

BEVs accounted for 66 percent of NEV exports in September, down from 83 percent in the same period last year.

Exports of A0-class and A00-class BEVs represented 46 percent of NEV exports, up from 38 percent year-on-year.