China's NEV Market in September: BYD Keeps the Crown, Tesla Climbs to Fourth

China’s new energy vehicle retail landscape delivered a familiar headline in September 2026, with BYD once again sitting at the top of the sales table — but the month’s real story was written further down the rankings, where Tesla leapfrogged several rivals and two well-known names slipped out of the top ten entirely.

According to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), BYD sold 246,816 NEVs at retail in September, translating to a 22.8% share of the market. That figure represents a 28.9% drop from a year earlier, though it edged up 5.5% compared with August. Even with that softening, BYD’s slice of the pie was more than double that of second-placed Geely, which moved 119,682 units for an 11.0% share — flat versus the prior month and down 20.5% year-on-year.

Leapmotor held onto third with 78,202 vehicles and a 7.2% share, up 30.8% from September 2025 but down 7.9% month-on-month. The sharpest upward move came from Tesla, which climbed from sixth to fourth on the back of 64,837 retail sales, a 29.6% month-on-month jump that pushed its share to 6.0%. Despite that bounce, Tesla’s September volume remained 9.4% below the same month last year, underscoring that a single strong month hasn’t yet reversed its longer annual slide.

Changan fell to fifth with 61,732 units, followed by SAIC-GM-Wuling in sixth at 54,810 and Chery in seventh with 46,860. Two entrants reshuffled the bottom of the list: SAIC Passenger Vehicle surged back into the top ten at eighth with 40,280 vehicles — an 86.6% year-on-year and 45.6% month-on-month leap, the fastest growth of any brand in the top ten — while Xiaomi Auto returned in ninth with 40,015 units. Huawei-backed HIMA slid from eighth to tenth on 37,490 vehicles, down 29.2% year-on-year and 11.0% month-on-month.

The shake-up pushed both Li Auto and Nio, which occupied ninth and tenth in August, out of September’s top ten. For the year to date, BYD remains comfortably first with 1,695,099 units and a 21.8% share, though that cumulative tally is down 33.3% year-on-year. Geely holds second at 914,115 vehicles, while Leapmotor has overtaken Changan for third place with 506,967 units. On the broader passenger car market, NEVs accounted for a record 67.0% of China’s September retail sales, according to the CPCA, even as the traditionally strong “Golden September” season came in below expectations and conventional fuel-powered car sales nearly halved.