September 2, 2026 (InvestinChina.asia) — China’s major automakers released their August sales figures on September 1, with the overseas market emerging as the decisive growth driver. BYD’s passenger vehicle sales reached 433,000 units with overseas deliveries exceeding 180,000, while Leapmotor held above the 100,000-delivery threshold for a second consecutive month, and most other new-force brands clustered in the 35,000–40,000 range.
According to company announcements compiled by Securities Times, BYD sold 433,000 passenger vehicles in August, up from 372,000 a year earlier. Overseas sales surpassed 180,000 units, setting a new historical high. The “seek growth overseas” strategy remains central for most leading manufacturers.
Among the traditional “big three” Chinese brands, overseas performance stood out across the board. Chery Group sold 280,128 vehicles in August, up 15.4% year-on-year, of which exports reached 197,000 units, surging 52.1% year-on-year. Chery’s cumulative exports have now hit 7.18 million units, making it the first Chinese automaker to cross the 7-million-export milestone. New energy vehicle sales reached 120,900 units, up 69.8% year-on-year, marking the fifth consecutive month above the 100,000 threshold.
Geely Auto reported August sales of 270,200 units, achieving simultaneous year-on-year and month-on-month growth for the sixth straight month. New energy sales (including Geely, Lynk & Co, and Zeekr) came in at 175,877 units, up 19% year-on-year. Geely emphasized that it has entered a “systematic global expansion” phase, with overseas exports reaching 110,100 units in August — up 205% year-on-year and 3% month-on-month, marking eight straight months of simultaneous year-on-year and month-on-month growth. New energy products accounted for 70,600 units of exports, up 446% year-on-year, representing 64% of total overseas shipments. Geely has raised its 2026 overseas sales target from 640,000 to 920,000 units, aiming for the 1-million mark.
New Forces: Leapmotor Breaks Away, Others Hold the 30K Line
Leapmotor delivered 103,100 vehicles globally in August, up 80.7% year-on-year — its second consecutive month above the 100,000 level after first crossing the threshold in July. The company told Securities Times that this is not a short-term market windfall but the result of technology-driven product strength: Leapmotor independently controls core components accounting for 65% of total vehicle cost, operates 18 in-house component factories, and achieves a 90% platform commonality rate.
The remaining new-force brands concentrated in the 35,000–40,000 delivery band, with their center of gravity shifting slightly upward month-on-month:
| Brand | Aug 2026 Deliveries | YoY | MoM | Jul 2026 Base |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leapmotor | 103,100 | +80.7% | +1.8% | 101,267 |
| Xpeng | 39,100 | +4% | +2.8% | 38,027 |
| Li Auto | 37,700 | +32.1% | +23.7% | 30,468 |
| Zeekr | 37,000 | +109.8% | +3.2% | 35,837 |
| NIO | 35,800 | +14.5% | -0.3% | 35,934 |
| Xiaomi Auto | 30,000+ | — | — | 30,000+ |
Sources: Company announcements via Securities Times and CnEVPost; July 2026 base figures from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) and industry data compilations.
There is a growing view in the industry that new-force makers are collectively “stuck at 30,000.” That number is increasingly seen as the ticket to stay at the table in future competition. NIO co-founder and president Qin Lihong, in an earlier interview with Securities Times, cautioned that monthly volume is only one dimension — the price-volume relationship matters more. “If a car averages 100,000 yuan in price, 30,000 monthly deliveries may still not cross the survival line,” he said, pointing to the importance of premium positioning.
While still hovering in the 30,000 zone, most new-force brands are preparing for the traditional “Golden September, Silver October” peak season through new product launches. Xpeng, for instance, began pre-sales of the G9L flagship SUV on August 11. Chairman He Xiaopeng said on the Q2 earnings call that with four new SUV models — the G9L, MONA L05, GX, and MONA L03 — rolling out successively, Xpeng expects a significant sales boost in Q4, targeting 60,000 monthly deliveries.
Overseas: The Decisive Battlefield
The August data underscores a structural shift in China’s auto industry: overseas markets have become the primary growth engine as the domestic market enters a stock-competition phase. Combined overseas sales of BYD, Chery, and Geely exceeded 487,000 units in August — a figure larger than the domestic monthly sales of most mainstream automakers.
The gap between BYD and Chery in overseas volume has narrowed to under 10,000 units for the first time. BYD’s August exports of approximately 189,000 units represent a year-on-year surge of 134.45%, rapidly closing in on Chery’s long-held export leadership. In the first half of 2026, BYD generated more revenue from overseas than from its domestic market, with 53% of total revenue coming from abroad.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the CPCA’s Passenger Car Market Information Branch, noted that the August market was in a bottom-building recovery phase. As pro-consumption policies take effect and the base period gradually improves, the industry is entering a mature stage characterized by value-driven competition and structural optimization, setting the stage for the traditional “Golden September, Silver October” season.
The new-force brands are also accelerating their global push. Leapmotor has captured the No. 1 pure-electric brand market share in Italy and saw its T03 model become the best-selling Chinese new-force vehicle in the UK market. The convergence of scale players and new forces alike on overseas expansion signals that “going global” is no longer an option but a necessity for survival in China’s intensifying automotive landscape.