Passenger Link Branch: From December 1 to 7, retail sales of 297,000 vehicles in the national passenger car market decreased by 8% compared to the same period last month

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on December 1-7, the passenger car market retailed 297,000 vehicles, down 32% from the same period in December last year, down 8% from the same period last month. The cumulative retail sales volume this year was 21.781 million vehicles, up 5% year on year; from December 1 to 7, passenger car manufacturers sold 298,000 vehicles, down 40% from December last year, down 18% from the same period last month. Since this year, a total of 27.063 million vehicles have been sold, up 10% year on year.

New energy: From December 1 to 7, the national passenger car NEV market retailed 185,000 vehicles, down 17% from the same period in December last year, down 10% from the same period last month. The cumulative retail sales volume of 11.657 million units since this year was 11.657 million, up 19% year on year; from December 1 to 7, passenger car manufacturers sold 191,000 new energy vehicles, down 22% from the same period last month, down 20% from the same period last month. Since this year, 13.947 million vehicles have been sold, up 27% year on year.

Penetration rate: On December 1-7, the penetration rate of new energy retail sales in the national passenger car market was 62.2%; the penetration rate of new energy wholesale among passenger car manufacturers nationwide was 64.3%. In the first week of December, the country produced 212,000 pure fuel light vehicles, down 27% from the same period last year and 18% from the same period last month. The total production of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the first week of December was 140,000, down 10% from the same period last year and 2% from the same period last month.

1. Retail sales trend in the national passenger car market in December 2025

In the first week of December, the national passenger car market sold an average of 42,000 vehicles per day, down 32% from the same period in December last year and 8% from the same period last month.

From December 1 to 7, the national passenger car market retailed 297,000 vehicles, down 32% from the same period last year and 8% from the same period last month; since this year, the total retail sales volume of 21.781 million vehicles has been sold, an increase of 5% over the same period last year.

The retail trend in the auto market, which began in December 2025, is not strong. As the market continued to rise and boom in December last year, the retail growth rate was low this year. The trade-in policy stimulates demand for swaps. It is not a rigid purchasing demand. Consumer groups are extremely sensitive to policies, and demand fluctuates greatly. Affected by policy contractions, retail sales in the auto market declined sequentially in November. Currently, retail sales growth in early December was weak compared to November.

The country's macroeconomy continues to improve, and consumer confidence is relatively stable. However, due to the drastic tightening of trade-in and end-of-life renewal subsidy policies in some regions, retail sales experienced negative month-on-month growth in November, and fuel vehicle retail sales fell 22%, so dealers have also recently had a strong wait-and-see mentality. With the good results of anti-domestic sales, market promotion efforts remained moderate, so retail progress at the beginning of the month was not fast. Due to the expiration of the NEV tax exemption this year, and affected by the policy of buying 5 more cars next year, consumers will still have a strong sense of urgency to buy cars at the end of the year. In order to cope with the increase in consumer car purchase costs due to extended delivery cycles, car companies have introduced purchase tax subsidy programs one after another. This back-up plan is only a temporary act at the end of this year and is unsustainable in the future.

2. Wholesale sales trend of passenger car manufacturers across the country in December 2025

In the first week of December, passenger car manufacturers across the country sold 43,000 vehicles per day, down 40% from the same period in December last year and 18% from the same period last month.

From December 1 to 7, passenger car manufacturers across the country wholesale 298,000 vehicles, down 40% from the same period in December last year, down 18% from the same period last month; a total of 27.063 million units have been sold since this year, an increase of 10% over the previous year.

There are 23 working days in December 2025, one more day than the same period last year, and 3 days more than the 20 working days in November. There is relatively plenty of time for production and sales in December. Wholesale sales by manufacturers were relatively slow in the first week of December. The main reason was that retail sales were weak in November. The current retail recovery was slower than expected. Channel inventory grew rapidly for two consecutive months, and dealers were extremely cautious in entering cars at the beginning of the month. However, in December 2024, the market was extremely enthusiastic. Continuous inventory removal led to lower inventories at the end of last year, and dealers were more proactive in purchasing, driving a sharp increase in wholesale in the first week. The performance of December of this year was also slightly lower compared to the first week of December 2023.

Domestic exports are steady and exports are strong. Since the third quarter, China's automobile export market has been improving, and some overseas markets have grown well. Overseas markets for autonomous new energy have performed well, and the pressure on the Russian market to remove inventory of fuel vehicles has decreased, driving the continuous increase in automobile exports in all aspects. As exports of Chinese plug-in and hybrid models increase, the impact of independent brands in overseas markets on international brands will gradually become apparent. According to the experience of strong growth in China's exports of durable consumer goods in the past 20 years, improving the cost performance ratio of independent new vehicles and the construction of an overseas marketing system will drive the international market of Chinese independent brands to continue to strengthen, and the contribution of overseas sales in the current month continues to grow.