Chinese automakers reported September 2026 delivery figures that highlighted the widening gap between domestic demand weakness and export-driven growth, with BYD, Geely, Chery, Leapmotor, Xiaomi and Xpeng all posting notable results.
BYD sold 463,561 NEVs in September, up 17.0% year-on-year and up 5.3% month-on-month — the only automaker to exceed 400,000 units in a single month. The mix is shifting: battery-electric vehicles rose about 33% to 273,100 units while plug-in hybrids fell 2.36% to 183,600. Overseas passenger vehicle and pickup sales reached 180,000 units, up 153.9% year-on-year and accounting for close to 40% of total sales. BYD's third-quarter NEV sales reached 1,323,065 units, up 18.75% year-on-year and 19.41% quarter-on-quarter, ending four consecutive quarters of declines. Cumulative sales for January through September surpassed 3.07 million units.
Geely reported 292,168 vehicles, up 6.97% year-on-year and 8.13% month-on-month, its best month of the year and a third straight month of over 5% growth. Exports hit 106,685 units, up 162.35%, though 3.10% below August, making exports 37% of total sales. The Zeekr premium brand delivered 37,216 units, more than doubling year-on-year.
Chery Group sold 292,308 vehicles, up 4.2%. Exports reached 207,814 units, up 51%, a second consecutive month above 200,000 — a new single-month record for any Chinese automaker. Cumulative exports for the first three quarters reached 1.551 million units, up 65.6%, with exports representing close to 70% of the group's total sales, the highest ratio among mainstream automakers. Chery's NEV sales climbed 45.6% to 133,310 units, a sixth consecutive month above 100,000 and a new monthly high.
Leapmotor delivered 105,656 units, up 58.5% year-on-year, surpassing 100,000 units for a third consecutive month. The company disclosed overseas exports of more than 27,000 units in September — a quarter of total deliveries — and more than 150,000 for the year to date, completing its 2026 overseas target ahead of schedule.
Xiaomi delivered over 40,000 units, with its Pengcheng series topping 10,000 in its debut month. Xpeng delivered 41,256 units, up 5% year-on-year, a record for the period, with cumulative January-September volume of 284,367. NIO delivered 37,408 units, up 7.65% year-on-year, comprising 21,318 NIO, 8,763 Onvo and 7,327 Firefly vehicles. Li Auto fell 6.3% to 31,817 units, while Harmony Intelligent Mobility delivered 37,490 units.
On the Huawei side, the company finalized a new five-year cooperation agreement with Seres, reaffirming the Aito premium smart-car brand as the anchor and forming a dedicated Aito business team. Reports also suggest a possible three-way collaboration among Stellantis, Huawei and JAC.
