--- title: "What are the most popular car brands in China?" url: https://popularinchina.com/tech/most-popular-car-brands-in-china section: "Tech" type: answer updated: 2026-10-25 next_review: 2026-11-25 status: checked author: "The Popular in China desk" publisher: Popular in China (https://popularinchina.com) license: Quote with attribution and a link to https://popularinchina.com/tech/most-popular-car-brands-in-china --- # What are the most popular car brands in China? _Chinese brands now sell two out of three new cars in China, and most of them plug in. Foreign joint ventures that led for decades are sliding down the table._ **Verdict: BYD** (比亚迪) — No.1 at retail in 2025; still No.1 in electric cars in 2026 ## Short answer BYD (比亚迪) is China’s most popular car brand. It led retail sales in 2025, ahead of Geely, FAW-Volkswagen, Changan and Chery, and still leads electric-car sales in 2026. Chinese brands now take about 70% of the market, and in September 2026 two in three new cars sold were electric or plug-in hybrid. ## At a glance - **Best-selling maker:** BYD 比亚迪 - **Runner-up:** Geely 吉利 - **Biggest foreign name:** Volkswagen (FAW-VW, SAIC-VW joint ventures) - **Electric and plug-in share:** 53.9% of 2025 sales; 67% in September 2026 - **Chinese brands’ share:** 65% in 2025; 69.8% in September 2026 ## How we know - **Retail ranking** (strong): BYD topped the China Passenger Car Association’s 2025 retail ranking, followed by Geely, FAW-Volkswagen, Changan and Chery. [1] - **Electric cars** (strong): BYD sold 3.48 million new-energy cars at retail in China in 2025, 27.2% of the segment, more than twice runner-up Geely. [3] - **2026 so far** (strong): BYD leads new-energy retail for January–September 2026 with 21.8%, ahead of Geely (11.8%) and Leapmotor (6.5%). [4] - **Shift to Chinese brands** (strong): Chinese brands took 65% of retail sales in 2025, up 4.8 points, and 69.8% in September 2026. [1] ## China’s top 10 car makers by retail sales, 2025 Ranked by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), counting cars sold to buyers in China. Petrol, hybrid and electric cars combined. [1][2] | Rank | Maker | Chinese | Type | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | BYD | 比亚迪 | Chinese brand; electric and plug-in hybrid only | | 2 | Geely | 吉利汽车 | Chinese brand; also owns Volvo, Zeekr and Lynk & Co | | 3 | FAW-Volkswagen | 一汽-大众 | Joint venture (Volkswagen, Audi) | | 4 | Changan | 长安汽车 | Chinese brand | | 5 | Chery | 奇瑞汽车 | Chinese brand | | 6 | SAIC-Volkswagen | 上汽大众 | Joint venture (Volkswagen, Skoda) | | 7 | SAIC-GM-Wuling | 上汽通用五菱 | Joint venture; maker of the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV | | 8 | FAW Toyota | 一汽丰田 | Joint venture (Toyota) | | 9 | GAC Toyota | 广汽丰田 | Joint venture (Toyota) | | 10 | Great Wall | 长城汽车 | Chinese brand (Haval, Tank) | CPCA ranks makers, so Volkswagen and Toyota appear twice, once per joint venture. China’s market in 2025: 23.74 million passenger cars at retail, up 3.8%. ## Who sells the most electric cars in China? New-energy vehicles (新能源汽车) are fully electric cars plus plug-in and range-extender hybrids. Retail sales in China, January–September 2026. [3][4] | Rank | Maker | Units | Share | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | BYD 比亚迪 | 1,695,099 | 21.8% | | 2 | Geely 吉利 | 914,115 | 11.8% | | 3 | Leapmotor 零跑 | 506,967 | 6.5% | | 4 | Changan 长安 | 501,180 | 6.5% | | 5 | Tesla China 特斯拉 | 381,088 | 4.9% | | 6 | SAIC-GM-Wuling 五菱 | 370,341 | 4.8% | | 7 | HIMA 鸿蒙智行 (Huawei-backed brands such as AITO) | 367,229 | 4.7% | | 8 | Nio 蔚来 | 299,376 | 3.9% | | 9 | Li Auto 理想 | 293,436 | 3.8% | | 10 | Chery 奇瑞 | 289,378 | 3.7% | Xiaomi, which sold 411,837 new-energy cars in China in 2025, three times its 2024 total, is just outside this top 10. ## Most new cars in China now plug in In 2025, 12.81 million of the 23.74 million passenger cars sold at retail in China were new-energy vehicles: 53.9%, the first full year above half. In September 2026 the share reached a record 67.0%. A long price war among dozens of Chinese brands has kept electric cars cheap, and buyers have moved with them. Chinese brands’ share of the home market rose to 65% in 2025, while foreign names lost ground: Honda’s retail sales fell 25.1%, Volkswagen’s 8.3% and Toyota’s 3.8%. Sources: [1][2][5][6][7] > **Official regulation (Ministry of Finance): 2026: electric cars pay half the purchase tax** > > New-energy cars bought from 1 January 2026 pay vehicle purchase tax at 5%, half the normal 10% rate; until the end of 2025 they paid none. Sales of the cheapest small electric cars fell sharply as a result, and the overall market is down 21.7% for January–September 2026, but the electric share has kept rising. Sources: [5][6] ## The best-selling models In 2025 the best-selling car at retail was the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, a tiny city car, followed by the Geely Xingyuan and the BYD Qin Plus, according to a full-year count based on retail registrations. Tesla’s Model Y and BYD’s Seagull were also in the top five. Counts differ slightly between data sources, so treat the order below the top spot as approximate. Sources: [7] > **Note: What you will notice as a visitor** > > Green licence plates mark new-energy cars; standard petrol cars have blue plates. In big cities you will see many Chinese electric models you may never have come across at home. ## Questions **What is the number one car brand in China?** BYD. It was the best-selling car maker at retail in China in 2025 and leads new-energy sales in 2026. **Is Tesla popular in China?** Yes, but less dominant than it was. Tesla China sold 625,698 cars at retail in China in 2025, fifth among new-energy makers, and is fifth again for January–September 2026 with a 4.9% share. **Are Volkswagen and Toyota still popular in China?** They are still the biggest foreign names: FAW-Volkswagen was third in 2025 and two Toyota joint ventures were in the top 10. But their sales are falling as buyers switch to Chinese electric cars. **What share of new cars in China are electric?** 53.9% in 2025 and 67.0% in September 2026, counting fully electric cars plus plug-in and range-extender hybrids. **Is Xiaomi really making cars?** Yes. The phone maker’s car arm sold 411,837 new-energy cars in China in 2025, three times its 2024 total. ## Sources 1. [Sina Finance, CPCA: 2025 passenger car retail, domestic-brand share and top 10 makers (11 January 2026, in Chinese)](https://finance.sina.cn/stock/jdts/2026-01-11/detail-inhfwypt4021253.d.html) — accessed 2026-10-25 2. [Yicai, CPCA: 2025 retail 23.744 million, new-energy share 53.9% (9 January 2026, in Chinese)](https://www.yicai.com/news/102996945.html) — accessed 2026-10-25 3. [CnEVPost, Automakers’ share of China’s NEV market in 2025 (12 January 2026)](https://cnevpost.com/2026/01/12/automakers-share-china-nev-market-2025/) — accessed 2026-10-25 4. [CnEVPost, China NEV market share in September 2026 and January–September (13 October 2026)](https://cnevpost.com/2026/10/13/china-nev-market-share-sept-2026-byd-tesla/) — accessed 2026-10-25 5. [Phoenix Auto, CPCA: September 2026 retail 1.618 million, new-energy share 67% (October 2026, in Chinese)](https://auto.ifeng.com/c/8xCScEUZZFy) — accessed 2026-10-25 6. [Huxiu / Jiemian, New-energy purchase tax halved from 2026 and the effect on small cars (27 May 2026, in Chinese)](https://www.huxiu.com/article/4862090.html) — accessed 2026-10-25 7. [Best Selling Cars Blog, China retail full year 2025](https://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2026/01/china-retail-full-year-2025-geely-2-leapmotor-87-8-xiaomi-197-2-surge-wuling-hongguang-mini-ev-1) — accessed 2026-10-25 ## Related - https://popularinchina.com/tech/is-byd-popular - https://popularinchina.com/tech/most-popular-ai-apps-in-china - https://popularinchina.com/trip/china-apps-for-visitors --- Canonical page: https://popularinchina.com/tech/most-popular-car-brands-in-china