Search History
Popular Searches
Dealer Login / Sign Up
May's new car sales rankings just came out, revealing a reality some have to admit: Pure fuel cars are heading towards the end, at least in the Chinese market.
Not a single fuel car in the top 16 models
According to CPCA statistics, the top 16 passenger vehicle retail sales models in May were all new energy vehicles, not a single fuel vehicle model, which is the first time in my recollection.
Bo Yue L appeared at 17th place, which can be said to regain some face for fuel cars.
CPCA Secretary General Cui Dongshu stated that "Cold Fuel, Hot New Energy" was the biggest focus of the May auto market, with the speed of electric substitution exceeding expectations.
In particular, among the top 10 selling models, Geely Xingyuan ranked first with 38,751 units, Tesla Model Y ranked second with 28,911 units, Xiaomi SU7, Leapmotor A10, and Li Auto i6 ranked from third to fifth respectively, while Model 3, Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, AITO M6, Yuan UP, and Titanium 7 PHEV occupied the 6th to 10th places in order.
Among them, 8 models were pure electric vehicles, and the top 6 were all BEVs, with electric vehicles being very strong.
This is also a trend-based change. In January this year's top 10 sales, there were still 7 fuel cars, 6 in February, 5 in March, only one Geely Binyue in April ranking 8th, and zeroed out in May. The speed of change is overwhelming.
Whether it is Binyue or Boyue, they can be called the standouts among fuel cars, but both fell out of the TOP 10 camp.
Back in 2025, fuel cars still held half of the TOP 10, still the market boss. Before that, Sylphy, Lavida, Sagitar, etc. dominated the list for a long time.
TOP 10 is also the weather vane of the auto market. Is it that fuel cars are not trying hard enough? Of course not. Previously high-and-mighty luxury brands had to conduct significant promotions, with some model prices even approaching a 50% cut, such as Jaguar Land Rover dropping by 50%, and BMW dropping by over 300,000 yuan.
Joint venture fuel cars are also ruthless when cutting prices. Nissan Sylphy Classic terminal price starts at 50,200 yuan; VW Sagitar official price dropped to 79,800 yuan, a decrease of about 33% compared to the old model guide price of 119,900 yuan, a drop of 50,000 yuan; Honda Civic entry-level vehicle price only is about 90,000 yuan; VW Tharu after discount is 82,900 yuan, a drop close to 40%.
Sales still did not see much improvement, indicating consumers are not too interested, fuel cars have already become a "niche category", fast becoming sentiment cars.
New energy vehicle penetration rate reaches 62.9% high
At the same time, new energy vehicle penetration rate is rising. According to CPCA statistics, May new energy retail penetration rate continued to break 60% to reach a historical high of 62.9%, which is worlds apart from January's 38.6%.
What does this concept mean? It's equivalent to every 3 passenger vehicles sold, 2 are new energy vehicles, seizing the market initiative.
This year January to May, domestic auto market decline is around 20%, but during the same period new energy passenger vehicle wholesale sales reached 5.306 million vehicles, year-on-year growth of 1.7%, forming a sharp contrast with the general market trend.
Penetration rate improvement is not strange, what is strange is the speed of improvement. One reason is the Middle East War causing soaring gas prices, highlighting the advantage of low usage cost for new energy vehicles.
At the same time, new energy vehicle experience is continuously improving: trendy exterior design, smart and smooth cockpit, trouble-free assisted driving, scientific spatial layout, precisely grasping young people and family users' purchase preferences.
Conversely, traditional fuel cars, for many years product innovation lagging, high fuel consumption, lagging intelligence, high usage cost shortcomings continuously highlighted, slowly lost market competitiveness.
From the supply side, even "cold" joint venture car companies have become enthusiastic, which may also be forced by circumstances. According to CPCA statistics, May new energy joint venture models sales year-on-year growth 51%, fuel cars year-on-year decline 41%.
HEV Gas-Electric is also growing
New energy vehicle penetration rate improvement reflects the acceleration of electrification. Of course, electrification is not limited to new energy vehicles, gasoline-electric hybrid HEV not relying on charging is also one of the directions.
According to CPCA statistics, May gasoline-electric hybrid passenger vehicle wholesale 92,000 vehicles, year-on-year growth 26%, month-on-month growth 28%.
Among them, GAC Toyota (35,560 units), FAW Toyota (27,999 units), SAIC Passenger Vehicles (12,758 units), Geely Automobile (6,677 units), Changan Ford (2,809 units), Dongfeng Motor (1,984 units), Dongfeng Honda (1,955 units), GAC Honda (1,198 units) are the standouts among them.
It is worth mentioning that Chinese brands Geely, SAIC, Changan, GAC, etc. are also rapidly catching up in the HEV field, and found new markets overseas.
Pure fuel cars hope for export
Fuel cars are collapsing at a visible speed domestically, but overseas markets still have vast room, especially in Southeast Asia, Middle East, Russia, South America, where charging infrastructure is insufficient, fuel cars are still the absolute main force.
The most intuitive impression is, BYD's total sales far exceeded Chery, but the latter's export volume is more than the former, and mainly sold are fuel cars. Chery fuel cars swept Middle East, Latin America and Russia, BYD electric vehicles deep cultivated Thailand, Brazil, Europe, etc.
2024 China fuel car export volume reached 4.574 million vehicles, accounting for 78.1% of total auto exports, this ratio has been stable around 3/4 since 2020; 2025, fuel car exports 4.483 million vehicles, accounting for 63.16% of total exports 7.098 million (CAAM data); until this year May, this ratio is still at 46%.
Equal Rights for Fuel and Electric? Save fuel cars?
Actually, comparing new energy vehicles with fuel cars is a bit unfair, the former's advantage partly comes from electric drive experience, partly from policy dividends: exempt purchase tax, green plate convenience, cheap electricity fees, and bypassing the road tax base in the fuel tank.
Fuel cars did suffer a silent loss. As the saying goes: "Fill a tank, half is tax." Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, the reason is roughly the same. Taking current 92 Octane Gasoline as an example, consumption tax, VAT, Urban Maintenance and Construction Tax, Education Surcharge, Local Education Surcharge added up, account for about 1/3 of gas price. The lower gas price, the higher proportion of fixed consumption tax.
New energy vehicles also occupy roads, occupy parking spaces, cause congestion, also wear road surfaces, and cause greater harm, especially large new energy SUVs, ranging from over 2 tons, but because not refueling, naturally bypass the refined oil consumption tax this old interface.
Now relevant departments and media are calling for new energy vehicles to "reduce weight", possibly laying the groundwork for taxing based on vehicle weight.
Due to user experience differences, even achieving "Fuel and Electric Equal Rights", fuel cars still cannot get rid of the fate of decline, just slightly delay the process. (Author | DA Bin)
© 2024 Bitauto.com. All Rights Reserved.
Bitauto (www.yiche.com and www.bitauto.com) is one of the most visited automotive websites in China. We provide detailed info on Chinese car brands available in your area. Please note that the information provided on this website is based on publicly available data and is for reference only. It may not be fully updated or accurate at all times.
