1. September Sales Review of Top 5 Domestic Brands

Stripping away the marketing heat of "Golden September," the seating order of the top five domestic brands—BYD, Chery, Geely, Changan, and Great Wall—continued the layout for nearly half a year in September, with no disruptive reshuffle. However, behind the seemingly unchanged ranking, there was already significant divergence: the top contenders continued to widen the gap, the middle two engaged in close combat, and the tail-end enterprises faced a sharp increase in pressure. The stock-based internal competition of domestic brands reached its extreme in September, and the five giants had already formed three completely different camps.

BYD, with a monthly sales figure of 456,000 units, firmly held the absolute top position in the 400,000-500,000 unit range, with an unshakable advantage; Chery (292,300 units) and Geely (292,200 units) formed the second echelon in the 300,000 unit range, with a gap of only hundreds of units, making the ranking of second and third place interchangeable at any time; Changan firmly secured fourth place at the 200,000 unit level,拉开 a clear gap from the second echelon and stood alone in the buffer zone; Great Wall, with sales of only 110,000+ units, firmly landed in the tail-end 100,000 unit level. Not only was the gap with the top four continuing to widen, but it also faced strong pursuit from new emerging brands like Leapmotor and SAIC Passenger Vehicles, making the five-strong seat precarious.

Looking at the annual trends of these five enterprises, BYD's upward trajectory, Geely's stability, Chery's outward strength but internal weakness, Changan's volatility, and Great Wall's slump constitute a complete microcosm of the 2026 domestic market. With the conclusion of "Golden September" and the launch of "Silver October," what will the future layout of the top five domestic brands be during the ultimate sprint of the fourth quarter?

2. Responses from Multiple Parties on 'Maextro V800 Inspection Report'

The controversy triggered by the Maextro V800 brake pedal continues. In response to the "Maextro V800 Brake Pedal Inspection Situation Report" that dominated social media on October 13, Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance gave a clear answer to the media: "This inspection was commissioned by JAC Motors, and the inspection report was sent to users." However, a reporter subsequently called the media liaison department of JAC Motors, who expressed "uncertainty." Although the client has come to light, the two sides' statements have not been fully aligned.

It is understood that the report was issued by the Test Center of China Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd. (CAERI), report code 26-WT-DGJ-N10440. However, CAERI clarified the boundary on the same day: "The report is responsible only for the samples or vehicles submitted by the enterprise, and we do not make any guarantee for products produced in mass production subsequently." In addition, this "Explanation" has not been released through official channels of Maextro Automotive, Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, or JAC Motors to date, but was distributed to terminal stores in the form of a poster, with sales staff communicating one-on-one with users.

Dongmen Jian Nan, the party involved in the test, also responded to this report with a "triple response," raising doubts about the difference between the test loading speed and the actual emergency braking scenario. Some netizens also pointed out that the industry standard QC/T 788-2018 published in the "Explanation," with the standard name "Performance Requirements and Bench Test Methods for Automotive Pedal Devices," targets the pedal itself, while the Maextro V800 issue lies in the brake pedal bracket, not the pedal body itself. Therefore, from the perspective of external professionals and testers, this report on test standards, loading methods, component scope, and even the test results itself, seems to still fail to fully convince outsiders. As of now, Maextro has not made further response regarding the test report.

3. Global EV Readiness Ranking

Arthur D. Little released the 2026 Global Electric Mobility Readiness Index, throwing an uncomfortable conclusion at the automotive industry: Whether you can make an electric vehicle is no longer key; whether the market is ready to accept it is the main question. The index covers 31 markets, scoring from five dimensions: macro environment, market landscape, consumer willingness, charging infrastructure, and vehicle ownership cost. 100 points is the line—when this score is reached, electric vehicles and fuel vehicles stand on the same starting line in the market. Among them, China ranks first globally with 106 points, and Norway, ranked second, has 103 points. These are the only two markets globally that have crossed the 100-point line. The agency stated that the EV ecosystem in these two markets is mature enough, not just able to "compete with fuel vehicles," but winning structurally.

Next are Singapore at 96 points and the Netherlands at 90 points, forming the first echelon. The European continent follows closely: France fifth, Germany sixth, followed by the UK, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, and Spain. These markets have basic conditions, but are stuck on price issues. What is truly surprising is the latter—global second-largest auto market US ranks 25th, and Japan ranks 23rd. Two traditional auto manufacturing giants dropped to the middle-lower level in EV readiness. The most worth watching in the index is the change in emerging markets. Vietnam's EV share has reached 40%, Thailand 23%, and Turkey 22.3%. These markets are not traditional auto powerhouses, but their electrification speed is faster than many European countries.

4. Jan-Sept China EVs in Europe 'Unrivaled'

Continuing the momentum of the first half of the year, the expansion of Chinese brand EVs in the European market continues to accelerate. According to European agency statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, EV sales in the 14 core European countries were 1.867 million units, a year-on-year increase of 36.15%. Among them, Chinese brand EVs contributed a significant portion of the market growth. In the first three quarters of this year, Chinese brand EV sales (including Volvo, Polestar, smart, and Lotus four brands with Chinese controlling interests) reached 371,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 79.12%, with market share rising from 15.12% to 19.89% compared to the same period last year. If Volvo, Polestar, smart, and Lotus are excluded, Chinese brand EV sales in the first three quarters were 260,000 units, a direct increase of 55.99% year-on-year, with market share rising from 8.35% to 13.93%. Conversely, if all Chinese-controlled brands are excluded, the growth rate of the European EV market in the first three quarters would drop to around 28%, a decrease of about 8 percentage points.

In detail, BYD continues to lead, with cumulative sales of 85,400 units in Europe in the first three quarters, ranking 7th in the European EV brand sales list; Leapmotor sold 64,400 units, ranking 13th in the brand list, surpassing giants like Hyundai; MG cumulative sales of 35,500 units in the first three quarters, ranking 16th in the brand list; Xpeng ranked 20th with 23,100 units. Apart from the mentioned brands, the performance of other brands in Europe in the first three quarters was not particularly bright, and some even saw a decline. NIO's main brand sold only 238 units in Europe in the first three quarters, down 66.67% year-on-year; Voyah, Seres, Great Wall, Hongqi and other brands' deliveries in the first three quarters were only three digits. Li Auto had registration data for the first time in the third quarter of this year, only 6 units, which is the i6 model. For these brands, the European market is still in the stage from zero to one.

5. Lynk & Co Responds to Owner Cliff Fall Incident

Recently, Lynk & Co released an explanation regarding the traffic accident of a Lynk & Co 10 EM-P vehicle in Luzhou, Sichuan: Around 6 AM on October 9, a Lynk & Co 10 EM-P driving on a national road in Luzhou, Sichuan, deviated from the road due to the owner's unfamiliarity with the road conditions, rolled over, and fell to the bottom of a cliff with a drop of nearly 100 meters. During the fall, the airbags popped out in time, and the vehicle's emergency rescue system was triggered automatically, initiating a voice call to the owner. After experiencing multiple impacts and continuous rolling, the passenger compartment structure remained intact, the A/B/C pillars had no deformation, the doors could be opened normally, and the battery showed no signs of smoking, fire, explosion, or leakage.

After the accident, the company immediately activated emergency response, quickly organized Chengdu and local Luzhou dealers to contact the owner, rushed to the hospital to visit and accompany, and assisted in handling matters such as hospitalization, insurance, and vehicle damage assessment. Currently, after hospital examination, the owner has minor abrasions and local bone fractures, with a good mental state. The company will continue to pay attention to the owner's recovery and provide necessary support. The specific cause of the accident is being further investigated by the local traffic police department, and the final result will be subject to the traffic police department's investigation conclusion. We will actively cooperate with relevant departments to carry out work.

6. New Traveler 7 On Sale Starting at 125,900 Yuan

Jetour New Traveler 7 officially went on sale, launching 8 configurations with fuel and plug-in hybrid, with an official guide price of 139,900-179,900 Yuan and a super refresh price starting at 125,900 Yuan. As a new generation model, the most intuitive change in appearance is the installation of the iconic round headlight front face, the car side installed body-color wheel arches, smoked mirrors, and new wheel hub styling, the "small schoolbag" hanging on the tail of the car changed to a square-with-circle double-color style. The cockpit focuses on enhancing comfort experience, with new 12-layer Cloud Comfort seats supporting 8-point pneumatic massage and 10-way electric adjustment, and providing a Queen's co-pilot seat with leg rest; the sound system upgraded to a Boyaya sound surround sound system with 23 speakers.

In terms of intelligence, the whole series is equipped with TOUR OS 3.3 AI intelligent cockpit, equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8255 high-end cockpit chip; fuel version equipped with Falcon 500 high-end intelligent assisted driving system, plug-in hybrid version equipped with Huawei ADS 5 intelligent driving system (common optical road in-cabin LiDAR solution). In terms of power, the fuel version provides 1.5T and 2.0T engines, matching 7DCT or 8AT transmissions respectively; the plug-in hybrid version is equipped with a hybrid system composed of 1.5TGDI engine and three-electric group, CLTC pure electric range 251km. In terms of off-road hardware, XWD fully automatic intelligent four-wheel drive system combined with 7+X one-key off-road mode greatly reduces the operating threshold for drivers when driving on unpaved roads.

7. New Qiyuan Q05 Time-Limited Subsidy Price Starts at 79,900 Yuan

The 2027 Model Changan Qiyuan Q05 launched 3 models, with a time-limited subsidy price of 79,900-95,900 Yuan. As an annual facelift, the appearance mainly adds new paint colors and installs new style low-drag wheels, the interior layout upgrades the 4nm Dimensity automotive-grade cockpit chip on the basis of continuing the old model, and adds home appliance interconnection functions. In terms of configuration, the heat pump air conditioning changed from the old high-spec exclusive to standard equipment for the whole series, and the flat tire steady driving system also achieved standard equipment for the whole series. In addition, LiDAR was downsized to high-spec models, matching the Tian Shu intelligent driving assistance system, realizing highway and urban elevated NOA pilot function. In terms of range, the whole series matches 51.9 kWh CATL battery, CLTC pure electric range 506km, supports 3C fast charging.

8. New Geely Emgrand Upward Series Official Images Released

The official images of the New Geely Emgrand Upward Series were officially released, mainly focusing on optimizing and upgrading appearance details and cockpit. First look at the appearance, focus on optimizing the grille, front and rear bumpers and adding black sports decoration, the tail of the car adds a through chrome strip, improving the whole car visual effect. The biggest change in the interior is replacing a larger floating central control screen, affected by the screen size, the central control air outlet and physical button position are moved down accordingly. At present, the official has not yet disclosed whether the car machine system is upgraded synchronously. Power is expected to continue to carry 1.5L engine, matching CVT transmission and 5-speed manual transmission respectively.