| China’s automotive market slowed sharply in February as production and sales were affected by the Chinese New Year holiday, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Vehicle production in February totaled 1.672 million units, while sales reached 1.805 million units. Compared with January, output fell 31.7% and sales declined 23.1%. On a year-on-year basis, production dropped 20.5% and sales decreased 15.2%.
For the January–February 2026 period, cumulative vehicle production stood at 4.122 million units and total sales reached 4.152 million units, representing declines of 9.5% and 8.8% respectively from a year earlier.
The top 15 auto groups sold 3.875 million vehicles during the first two months, down 9% year on year, accounting for 93.3% of the total market.
Domestic demand weakened significantly in February. Vehicle sales within China totaled 1.133 million units, falling 32% month on month and 32.9% year on year. Sales of traditional internal-combustion vehicles reached 650,000 units, down 36.4% from January and 29.9% from a year earlier.
Across the first two months, domestic sales amounted to 2.799 million units, a 23.1% decline, including 1.673 million conventional fuel vehicles, down 19.8% year on year.
Exports remained a bright spot. China exported 672,000 vehicles in February, down 1.4% month on month but up 52.4% year on year. Total exports for January–February reached 1.352 million units, a 48.4% increase compared with the previous year. |