Two in Three Cars Sold in China Last Month Were Electric.
New-energy vehicles reached a record 67% of new car sales in China in September, according to China Passenger Car Association data analyzed by Carbon Brief, as combustion-engine sales fell faster than electrified ones.
New-energy vehicles (NEVs) made up 67% of new car sales in China in September, the highest monthly share on record, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The category covers battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, which also carry a combustion engine.
The share has climbed quickly. NEVs were 6% of new car sales in 2020 and 58% across 2026 to date. They had dropped to 39% in January, after a purchase tax exemption that had run for more than a decade ended in December 2025.
The record came in a shrinking market. Passenger-car retail sales fell 28% year-on-year in September, and NEV sales fell 17%. Combustion-engine car sales dropped 43% in September and 31% for the year so far. Plug-in hybrid sales were down 36% in September and 26% year to date, while battery electric sales fell 8.5% and 4%. NEVs gained share because the other segments declined faster.
The CPCA's secretary-general, Cui Dongshu, cited higher petrol prices tied to the Hormuz crisis as one reason for weak combustion-car sales. China's oil imports from January to September were down 15% from 2025, or 470 million barrels. Euan Graham, a senior energy analyst at the think tank Ember, told Carbon Brief the passenger NEV fleet had displaced 143 million barrels of oil during the crisis. Erica Downs of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy said the crisis was “reinforcing China’s electrification of road transport”.
The report also notes limits. Cui said the September fall also reflected a high sales base from 2025, trade-in policy changes and holiday disruption. Zhang Yichao of AlixPartners said he did not expect much more growth in NEV share and doubted it would pass 80%. Meanwhile, 1,084,000 NEVs were sold domestically in September and 558,000 were exported, with exports up 164% from a year earlier. The EU, Mexico and Turkey have placed tariffs on Chinese EV imports.
Note: The headline says cars were electric, but the 67% figure covers all new-energy vehicles, which include plug-in hybrids as well as battery electric cars. The page also says NEV sales fell year-on-year, so the record is a share of a shrinking market.
At a Glance
- NEVs were 67% of new car sales in China in September 2026, a record, per CPCA data.
- NEVs were 6% of China's new car sales in 2020 and 58% in 2026 to date.
- Combustion-engine car sales fell 31% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2026, while battery EV sales fell 4%.
- Ember's Euan Graham estimated China's passenger NEV fleet displaced 143 million barrels of oil during the Hormuz crisis.
- NEV exports rose 164% year-on-year in September, to 558,000 vehicles.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.