Posted on 12 Nov 2025
Chinese passenger electric vehicle retail sales posted a modest growth of 7.3% year-on-year in October, which is roughly half of September’s growth rate, Kallanish learns.
Data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Monday shows that sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased by 20.4% y-o-y to 812,000 units. However, demand for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) fell 10.3% and 7.7%, respectively, to 361,000 and 109,000 units.
CPCA estimates the EV penetration rate in the new car market reached 57.2% in October. Overall retail car sales, which include combustion engine vehicles, slipped 0.8% y-o-y to 2.24 million units.
In September, the government issued a work plan notice targeting sales of 15.5m EVs this year, which would represent an annual increase of 20%. The Chinese EV purchase tax exemption incentive, capped at CNY 30,000 ($4,213), will expire at year-end 2025, with support being phased out due to the industry’s mature levels.
Despite the slowdown in the domestic market, China’s EV exports grew by 42% y-o-y to 828,000 units. BEVs accounted for 64% of the shipments, with PHEVs and EREVs taking shares of 33% to 3%, respectively.
BYD continued to lead overseas sales, shipping 80,108 EVs last month. Other significant exporters include Chery (40,816 units), Tesla China (35,491), IM Motors (14,138), Geely (13,626), SGMW (11,127), Changan (9,515), and Leapmotor (6,565).
Source:Kallanish
