In the first half of 2026, China’s newenergy vehicle market maintained strong growth. Chinese domestic brands secured an absolutely dominant position. Three major trends emerged: concentration among top players, divergence across market segments, and rapid growth in exports. Market penetration kept rising, accelerating the replacement of fuelpowered vehicles. Overall, newenergy vehicle sales of Chinese brands registered doubledigit yearonyear growth. Highend market expansion, plugin hybrid models, and smallsize batteryelectric vehicles became core growth drivers.

I. Overall Market Data (H1 2026)

1. Cumulative sales of newenergy passenger vehicles in China rose by approximately 28% yearonyear. The penetration rate of newenergy passenger vehicles exceeded 52%, crossing the halfway mark for the first time. Chinesebrand newenergy vehicles accounted for over 82% of total volume, while the market share of jointventure and foreignbrand newenergy vehicles kept shrinking.

2. Clear divergence existed across powertrain types:

1. Sales growth of plugin hybrid (including extendedrange) vehicles outpaced that of batteryelectric models. Plugin hybrids made up 46% of H1 newenergy sales. They were widely adopted in lowertier markets by firsttime family buyers for their relief of rangeanxiety concerns.

2. Batteryelectric vehicle sales were mainly driven by Aclass and above sedans and SUVs, plus fleetoperation vehicles. The A00segment micro batteryelectric vehicle market saw fierce competition and intense price wars.

II. Sales Tiers of Leading Domestic Brands

Tier 1: MillionUnit Level (Absolute Market Leaders)

1. 

BYD BYD remained the industry leader with topranking newenergy sales in H1 2026. Growth was largely supported by fuelcarreplacement models under the Dynasty and Ocean series, as well as its full lineup of DMi plugin hybrid products. The Qin, Song and Seagull ranked as segment bestsellers. Strengths: Fullsegment product coverage spanning microcars to large luxury vehicles, mature plugin hybrid technologies, selfcontrolled supply chain, and wellestablished distribution networks covering third and fourthtier cities. Weaknesses: There remained room for premiumprice capability improvement for its highend batteryelectric products, whose sales proportion stayed relatively low.

2. 

3. 

Geely Group (Geely Galaxy, Zeekr, Geometry) Overall sales climbed substantially. Galaxy plugin hybrid products served as the key growth engine, targeting compact family sedan and SUV segments to compete against BYD’s DMi offerings with costeffective products. Zeekr focused on the highend batteryelectric market above RMB 200 000 and steadily built brand premium. Supported by selfdeveloped hybriddedicated engines and transmissions, Geely’s product competitiveness kept improving.

4. 

Tier 2: 300 000800 000 Units (Major Growth Players, Segment Champions)

1. 

Li Auto (Extendedrange Specialized Player) Li Auto concentrated on premium family SUVs priced above RMB 300 000 with extendedrange technology. Fast model iteration and strengths in spacious cabins and intelligent features kept it atop sales rankings for premium newenergy SUVs in this price bracket for consecutive months. Its customer base mainly consisted of middleclass households in first and secondtier cities. It posted solid profitability among domestic newenergy startups. Growth moderated due to marketspace constraints, sustained mainly through model upgrades.

2. 

3. 

Changan Deepal and Qiyuan Changan adopted a dualbrand strategy. Qiyuan targeted the RMB 100 000200 000 plugin hybrid familyvehicle market, while Deepal focused on midsize batteryelectric sedans and SUVs with aggressive pricing. Leveraging Changan’s extensive legacy 4S dealership network, it rapidly expanded in lowertier markets, with outstanding performance in Southwest and Central China. The popularization of hybrid technologies significantly lifted Changan’s newenergy growth.

4. 

5. 

Great Wall Motors (WEY, ORA, Haval New Energy) Haval’s plugin hybrid models in the RMB 150 000 compactSUV segment achieved high conversion rates from existing Haval fuelvehicle owners. ORA specialized in micro and small batteryelectric vehicles largely oriented toward female consumers and maintained stable segment volume. WEY focused on highend plugin hybrid SUVs yet faced relatively muted sales due to higher pricing. Overall growth was driven by tradeins from its traditional fuelvehicle customer base.

6. 

Tier 3: Niche NewEnergy Startups (100 000300 000 Units, HighEnd & IntelligentDriving Focus)

NIO and Xpeng: NIO stuck to the highend batteryelectric segment above RMB 350 000 and built differentiation via its batteryswap ecosystem and premium services, with stores concentrated in first and secondtier cities and modest steady sales growth. Xpeng emphasized intelligentdriving technology for batteryelectric sedans and SUVs in the RMB 200 000300 000 bracket. Versions equipped with advanced drivingassist functions boosted its sales, gaining recognition among young buyers in major cities. Limited by price positioning, their scale lagged behind established domestic OEMs.

Tier 4: Regional Domestic Brands & MicroCar Specialists

Wuling New Energy led the A00segment batteryelectric market, satisfying lowcost commuting demand in lowertier and countylevel markets. It dominated the underRMB 100 000 newenergy segment with large sales volume yet low perunit profit. Leapmotor and Neta adopted highvalueformoney positioning in the RMB 100 000150 000 range amid severe price competition, resulting in volatile sales performance.

III. Key Market Features in H1 2026

1. Solidified Competition by Price Band

· Below RMB 100 000: Wuling held a dominant position, mainly with micro batteryelectric vehicles for daily commuting; growth remained stable.

· RMB 100 000200 000: Intense rivalry among BYD, Geely Galaxy and Changan Qiyuan, concentrated on plugin hybrid family models. This price bracket represented over 60% of total newenergy sales and attracted most firsttime familycar buyers.

· RMB 200 000300 000: Competition between newenergy startups (Li Auto, Xpeng) and highend subbrands of traditional OEMs (Zeekr), covering both batteryelectric and extendedrange offerings. Intelligence and cabin space acted as core selling points.

· Above RMB 300 000: Chinese highend brands kept eroding market share of foreign luxury newenergy vehicles. Combined share of Li Auto, NIO and Zeekr continued rising.

2. TechnologyRoute Competition: Plugin Hybrids Capture FuelCar Market

In H1 2026, plugin hybrid / extendedrange vehicles became a core competitive advantage for Chinese brands. Unlike pure batteryelectric cars, plugin hybrids are less dependent on charging infrastructure, making them wellsuited for second, third and fourthtier cities plus countylevel markets. Almost all domestic brands completed their plugin hybrid product lineups. Slow rollout of plugin hybrid products by foreign brands accelerated their retreat from mainstream familyvehicle segments.

3. Regional Sales Disparities

· First and secondtier cities: Higher proportion of batteryelectric and highend newenergy vehicles. Newenergy startups gained high acceptance; buyers prioritized intelligent driving and brand experience.

· Third and fourthtier cities plus countylevel markets: Established domestic giants including BYD, Geely, Changan and Wuling took the lead. Popular products included plugin hybrid family SUVs and affordable batteryelectric commuter cars. Distributionnetwork coverage largely determined brand sales performance.

4. Exports as a Critical Growth Driver

Newenergy vehicle exports of Chinese brands surged in H1 2026. BYD, Geely, Great Wall and SAIC MG were major exporters. Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East stood as key destinations, with affordable batteryelectric sedans and SUVs most popular. Overseas sales became a vital revenue component for many top brands, growing far faster than domestic sales.

IV. Existing Challenges

1. Severe pricedriven competition in lowend segments: Frequent price promotions in the underRMB 150 000 market squeezed profit margins for most domestic brands, which relied on volume for scale.

2. Widespread product homogenization: Many brands showed similar product positioning, configurations and powertrain strategies. Except for top players, most smaller brands struggled to build distinct differentiation.

3. Gaps in highend batteryelectric segments: Although Chinese brands expanded share above RMB 300 000, sales volume remained limited in the ultraluxury segment above RMB 500 000.

V. Outlook for H2 2026

1. Competition among plugin hybrid models will intensify further. The RMB 100 000180 000 familyvehicle segment will remain the main battlefield. Leading brands will strengthen their advantages while living space for smaller players will shrink.

2. Intelligentdriving functions will become standard equipment. Models with highlevel intelligentdriving capability will secure sales premiums.

3. Overseas exports will maintain rapid growth. Major Chinese brands will keep scaling up overseas manufacturing and distribution networks.

4. Growth of the A00segment micro batteryelectric vehicle market will decelerate. Brands will push toward higherprice product lines to improve profitability.

Should you require, I can prepare a condensed ranking table of major Chinesebrand newenergy vehicle sales for H1 2026, or conduct separate analyses for batteryelectric and plugin hybrid segments.