China exported more than 6.2 million passenger cars in the first eight months of this year, beating its full-year total for 2025 with four months to spare, while domestic sales fell 25.6% in August. Europe absorbed much of the growth through plug-in hybrids, which the EU’s tariff on Chinese cars does not cover, and BYD’s Hungarian plant reaches mass production this quarter.
China exported more than 6.2 million passenger cars in the first eight months of this year, beating its full-year total for 2025 with four months to spare, the Associated Press reported. August alone accounted for about 890,000, up 67.1% on a year earlier.
Domestic sales went the other way. Fewer than 1.5 million cars were sold in China in August, a fall of 25.6%.
The pattern is not new. TNW reported in July that Chinese car sales had fallen 20% in the first half, the worst stretch since 2021.
What is new is the size of the offset. S&P Global Ratings expects full-year passenger vehicle exports to grow by 50% to 70%. “Strong export growth will largely mitigate the domestic weakness,” Stephen Chan of S&P Global told the news agency.
