As of about 6:45 AM IST, Monday 2 November 2026. Claims that could not be independently verified are flagged as such.
China's carmakers reported October sales on Sunday 1 November, and the numbers show a widening split: exporters and a few fast-growing brands set records, while several premium EV start-ups posted declines in a weak home market. BYD, the world's biggest EV maker, leaned on overseas buyers for a sixth straight month of growth.
BYD: growth from exports
BYD sold 490,168 new energy vehicles in October, up about 11% from a year earlier and its highest monthly total of 2026, according to Reuters and CnEVPost. Growth cooled from a 17% gain in September. Overseas shipments rose 102.8% year on year to 170,194 units, while sales in China fell 10.57% to 319,974, according to CnEVPost.
Battery-electric passenger car sales topped 300,000 for the first time, at 305,743 (up 37.38%), while plug-in hybrid sales fell 17.23% to 177,382. Over the first 10 months, BYD sold 3,621,744 vehicles, down 2.16%, with exports up 93.75% to 1,513,154 units.
Winners in October
- Leapmotor: a record 106,127 deliveries, up 50.99% year on year and above 100,000 for a fourth straight month. It has reached 77.27% of its 1 million annual target and would need to average about 113,667 a month in November and December to hit it.
- Xpeng: 50,237 deliveries, up 19.57%, its first month above 50,000. A record 13,326 went overseas.
- Xiaomi: "more than 50,000" EVs, its highest monthly total this year; it did not give an exact figure. Its January-October total of about 336,000 is roughly 61% of its 550,000 target, Reuters reported.
- Geely Auto: 310,183 vehicles, up 0.99%, with NEV sales above 200,000 for the first time and exports up 157.78% to 107,153.
- Chery Group: 295,934 vehicles, up 5.25%, with exports above 200,000.
Decliners
- Nio: 34,246 deliveries, down 15.23% year on year, ending a 31-month run of annual growth. Its Onvo brand fell 51.66%, while the Firefly brand set a record.
- Li Auto: 29,025 deliveries, down 8.63%, its lowest since February. It plans to raise monthly capacity for the updated Li i6 to 20,000 in November.
- Huawei-led HIMA: 33,537 deliveries, down 50.84%, a fifth straight annual decline.
- GWM: 120,374 vehicles, down 15.87%, even as overseas sales hit a record.
What the numbers say
The common thread is exports. BYD, Geely, Chery and Xpeng all leaned on overseas markets, while sales at home were soft. Reuters noted sluggish domestic demand and intense price competition in China, and CnEVPost data showed national NEV retail sales down about 13% year on year in the first part of October. That push abroad is already drawing a response: Reuters reported that BYD, one of the top exporters of hybrids to the EU, could face new curbs under a China-EU deal aimed at limiting hybrid imports into Europe. HorizonDesk has not seen the terms of that deal.
What to watch
- Official China Passenger Car Association data for October, due in the coming days.
- BYD's second-generation Seal 07 sedan, which CnEVPost says launches on 5 November.
- Whether Leapmotor and Xiaomi can hit full-year targets in the last two months.
Related reading on HorizonDesk
- Europe car sales in September: Tesla rebounds, BYD doubles
- Tesla Q3 profit falls 43% on AI and robotaxi spending
- Volkswagen posts a 5.9 billion euro Q3 operating loss
