July Car Manufacturer Rankings: BYD First, Leapmotor Enters Top 3, Joint Ventures Launch Surprise Counterattack

In July 2026, the Chinese passenger car market submitted a report card that presented an extreme contrast. Data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that retail sales of passenger cars in China were only 1.461 million units in July, a year-on-year decline of 20.9%.

The chill of the overall market did not hide structural highlights, with new energy vehicle penetration rate climbing to 65.1%, domestic brands taking the lead strongly, while the joint venture camp launched a long-overdue 'counterattack' in the new energy sector.

BYD: The '400,000-Level' Leader

On the July car manufacturer wholesale sales list, BYD firmly held the top spot with an absolute advantage of 410,612 units. This figure is not only 2.6 times that of Geely Automobile in second place, but also means that BYD's monthly wholesale sales have exceeded the 400,000-unit mark.

At the model level, BYD Yuan UP ranked first with 63,258 units, and the Song family ranked second with 61,012 units in wholesale sales. More worth noting is that BYD also performed strongly in the new energy export sector, with 173,721 units exported in July, almost equivalent to the combined export volume of Chery and Tesla China. From the Dynasty Series to the Ocean Series, from Denza to Fang Cheng Bao, BYD solidified its absolute leading position in the new energy market with its 'dual drive' strategy of pure electric and plug-in hybrid.

Exports Become Core Growth Engine, Domestic Brands Open a Second Battlefield

If BYD's dominant lead is 'to be expected', then the real highlight for domestic brands in July lies in the full-scale explosion of the second growth curve of exports.

Chery Group is undoubtedly the most dramatic protagonist of this month. Relying on the record of breaking 200,000 units in monthly exports for the first time, Chery exceeded Geely Automobile with sales of 261,900 units, ranking second among car manufacturers. The export volume of 202,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 70.1%, not only broke the monthly export record for Chinese brands, but also made Chery the first Chinese car manufacturer to break 200,000 units in monthly exports. On average, a 'Made by Chery' drives overseas every 16 seconds. More worth noting is that among the 203,000 units of export sales, the proportion of new energy vehicles has climbed to 41%, and Chery's overseas story is upgrading from 'fuel cars going global' to 'new energy cars going global'.

Geely Automobile staged a growth miracle. Exports in July were 106,700 units, surging 202% year-on-year, breaking the 100,000-unit mark for two consecutive months. Among them, new energy exports were 62,604 units, with a year-on-year increase of up to 616%, showing an astonishing speed in promoting export electrification. At the same time, the Zeekr brand, with 35,800 units and a year-on-year growth of 111%, became the biggest highlight within the group. Driving exports and high-endization with two wheels, Geely is attempting to replicate its domestic new energy leadership advantage in the overseas market.

SAIC Group is also not to be overlooked. New energy sales in July reached 176,700 units, surging 50.67% year-on-year; export and overseas base sales were 141,700 units, with a year-on-year increase of 72.55%. Against the background of overall sales increasing slightly by 0.32%, new energy and exports almost supported all of SAIC's incremental growth. The transformation determination of traditional giants is evident from the numbers.

Passenger car exports in July reached 918,000 units, an 87.8% year-on-year increase, accounting for 41% of total manufacturer sales. When domestic market retail sales declined by 20.9% year-on-year, exports have become a key support to hedge against weak domestic demand. BYD, Chery, Geely, Changan, and SAIC, domestic brands are opening a second battlefield in the overseas market, and this might be the chapter worth writing most about the car market in July.

Reshaping the New Forces Landscape: Leapmotor 'One Against Three'

The biggest surprise in July came from the new forces camp. Leapmotor Auto jumped to the third place among car manufacturers with a global delivery volume of 101,267 units, an increase of 102% year-on-year, becoming the first domestic new car-making brand to break 100,000 units in monthly deliveries.

What does this number mean? During the same period, NIO delivered 35,934 units, XPeng delivered 38,027 units, and Li Auto delivered 30,468 units, totaling about 104,000 units for the three. Leapmotor alone was almost equivalent to the sum of the three 'NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto'. In the 100,000 to 200,000 yuan mainstream price range, Leapmotor proved the breakout ability of new forces through scale. Overseas layout is advancing synchronously; Leapmotor B10 and C10 have officially landed in the Indonesian market and launched local KD assembly production.

Joint Venture Camp: Early Signs of New Energy 'Counterattack'

Joint venture brands, which had long been 'silent' on the new energy track, finally bared their fangs of counterattack in July. Although the penetration rate of new energy vehicles for mainstream joint venture brands only rose to 13.7%, the new energy wholesale sales of SAIC-GM, GAC Toyota, and Volkswagen Anhui all broke the 10,000-unit mark, respectively 12,662 units, 12,002 units, and 10,079 units. In the HEV market, FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota sold 34,883 units and 24,495 units respectively, showing steady performance.

More worth noting is that international oil prices surged significantly in July due to navigation blockage in the Strait of Hormuz, and domestic refined oil prices were increased by nearly 985 yuan/ton in two rounds cumulatively. This directly increased the cost of using fuel vehicles, objectively creating an external push for joint venture brands' new energy transition. As joint venture car companies intensively launch new energy new products, this 'counterattack' has just begun.

Conclusion

In July, the Chinese car market completed a new round of reshaping under overall pressure. BYD built a moat with 400,000 units-level monthly sales, Leapmotor announced the arrival of the scale era for new forces in the form of top three, and the new energy counterattack of joint venture brands indicates that competition in the second half will be more intense. When new energy penetration rate breaks through 65%, the winning move of the market has changed from 'whether to transform' to 'how fast and how thoroughly to transform'. This smokeless war is far from the endgame.