User access denied after block
For the first time, every vehicle in China’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars last month ran on electricity or a plug-in hybrid system. No internal combustion engine models made the list, marking a definitive break from the decades-long dominance of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.
Pure electrics dominate the top five
The shift was even sharper at the top. The five highest-selling models in May were all battery-electric vehicles. Geely’s EX2 led with 38,751 units, while Tesla’s Model Y took second place with 28,911 units. Xiaomi’s SU7 secured the third spot with 24,023 units.
Plug-in hybrids and range-extender models filled the remaining spots. The last combustion holdout, Geely’s Binyue SUV, had dropped out after appearing in April’s rankings, signaling the rapid phase-out of traditional powertrains even among once-popular models.
Market share crosses 60 percent
Industry data shows the transition has been rapid. In the fourth quarter of 2025, New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) passed the 50 percent mark for total passenger car sales in China. By April, plug-in vehicles accounted for 53.2 percent of wholesale production—vehicles built for both domestic and export markets.
Related: Joby partners to expand vertiport network
Retail figures for May, released earlier by the China Passenger Car Association, put NEV share at 62.9 percent. That number covers only cars sold to consumers inside China, not those shipped abroad. The disparity between wholesale (53.2 percent) and retail (62.9 percent) figures suggests that a significant portion of combustion vehicles produced in China are still being exported to markets where NEV adoption lags.
It’s a quiet milestone, but not an unexpected one. Analysts have long predicted that NEVs would eventually overtake combustion models in the top rankings. What surprised some was the speed—just two years ago, combustion engines still held four spots in the top 10, a number that dwindled to zero in a remarkably short period.
Sales breakdown for May 2026
- Geely EX2: 38,751 units
- Tesla Model Y: 28,911 units
- Xiaomi SU7: 24,023 units
- Leapmotor A10: 22,306 units
- Li Auto i6: 20,878 units
- BYD Sealion 06: 18,856 units
- Tesla Model 3: 18,370 units
- Wuling Hongguang Mini EV: 18,308 units
- Aito M6: 18,148 units
- Fang Cheng Bao Ti7: 17,510 units
No official wholesale figures for May have been released yet, so the exact production share remains unclear. The gap between retail and wholesale numbers—62.9 percent versus 53.2 percent—suggests exports are still pulling the average down, as a substantial portion of China’s combustion vehicle output is destined for overseas markets. This discrepancy also highlights the dual role of Chinese automakers, who must balance domestic demand for NEVs with the continued need to supply traditional vehicles to countries where electric adoption is slower. While the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV remains a strong seller in China due to its low price and compact size, many of Geely’s and BYD’s combustion models are still produced for markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, where charging infrastructure is less developed.
