The new A05 helps Leapmotor reach an all time high volume at home in August.
Today we can share with you All brands and All models retail sales data for China in August. It’s another mediocre month with sales off -24% or almost 500,000 units year-on-year to just 1,481,050 units for the selection of vehicles included in this report. This way, the YTD tally is down -20.9% or almost 3 million units (!) to 11,305,559. BSCB is the only non-Chinese medium to cover both wholesales (ex-factory shipments) and retail sales data for China so you can get the most complete picture of the largest new car market in the world. Retail sales tend to give a more authentic view of the market as they roughly correspond to registrations by end-customers and are more difficult to artificially boost with exports which can sometimes be the case for wholesales data. For more insights about the Chinese market make sure to consult our Exclusive Guide to all 161 Chinese Brands.
BYD (-34%) and Geely (-33.1%) are both in dire straits and fall even faster than the market. BYD sales are down -40.8% year-to-date while Geely is off -23.5%, again both drops are bigger than the market rate. Toyota (-23.3%) resists slightly better whereas Volkswagen (-36.1%) is in complete freefall once again. Toyota is now just 3,565 units below Volkswagen year-to-date and could grab the third spot in the next few months which would be a total affront to the German brand. Meanwhile Leapmotor (+46.7%) continues to blissfully ignore the market woes, even breaking its all time volume record at over 71,000 units. Tesla (-12%) impresses with a relatively small YoY fall, climbing up seven spots on July to #6. Li Auto (+29.1%) posts the second and only other YoY gain in the Top 10.
Xpeng is up to a record 11th place in August.
Wuling (-42%), Changan (-48.9%) and Chery (-28.4%) struggle. Outside the Top 10, Xpeng (-13.8%) shoots up to a record 11th place, ending the month just 870 sales off an inaugural Top 10 finish. Its previous best ranking was #14 hit in February 2025. Xiaomi (-16.6%), although falling slower than the market, disappoints but the launch of the new Sky Nomad N70 and N90 should allow the carmaker to return into positive territory. Fang Cheng Bao (+97.7%) delivers the biggest gain in the Top 25 but falls four ranks on last month to #14. Other great gainers include Luxeed (+461.5%), MG (+136.1%), Arcfox (+90.6%), NIO (+84.3%), Qiyuan (+57.4%) and Zeekr (+54.4%). Kia (+83.8%) is the only foreign carmaker in positive this month but ranks at a paltry #49.
The Geely Xingyuan (-15.2%) repeats at #1, a ranking it now also holds year-to-date, passing the Tesla Model Y (-25.8%) in a bad way at #2. The new Leapmotor A10 is back up to #3 after falling to #6 last month. The BYD Yuan UP (+14.5%) is up one spot on July, dislodging the new Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 falling to #5. The Tesla Model 3 (+18.7%) soars up 175 ranks on last month to #6 vs. #27 year-to-date, with the Li i6 (+121471.4%) celebrating one year in market with a 7th place (+3 on July). It stays #3 year-to-date. The BYD Dolphin (+19.8%) is back inside the Top 10 for the first time since last April at #8 ahead of the Xiaomi SU7 (-6.2%) down six spots to #9. The new BYD Song Ultra breaks into the Top 10 for the first time at #10.
First Top 10 finish for the new BYD Song Ultra
Looking at recent launches by foreign manufacturers, the Toyota bZ3X (+6.5%) holds up well at #57 with 7,713 sales. To be fair, all other efforts disappoint. The Nissan N8X is down 18 spots on July to #154 with less than 2,800 sales while the N6 sedan ranks #248 with just under 1,200 sales. The Buick Electra E7 is at a reasonable #107 with 4,752 sales. The Mazda EZ-60 (#338) is a complete failure, as is the Mazda EZ-6 (#530). The VW ID.ERA 9X is already down to 1,112 sales (#251) vs. 4,865 last May, while the ID.ERA 5S lands at #219 with 1,506 sales, far from a success so far. The Audi E5 can only muster 263 registrations while the Mercedes CLA, now discontinued, is down to just 78 and 1,315 year-to-date.
Previous month: China retail July 2026: Sales off -21.9%, Arcfox, MG, Zeekr among biggest gainers, Aistaland and Freelander start
One year ago: China retail August 2025: Leapmotor, Xiaomi, Xpeng and Onvo break records in stable market
Full August 2026 Top 113 All brands and Top 732 All models below.
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