As end of year sales incentives ramp up ahead of tax rebate reduction in 2026, nearly all brands cash in with best ever results
China’s October NEV sales and deliveries are coming in and the numbers are already eye-popping with many brands once again setting new records for consecutive months. With EV tax rebates set to end in 2026, many customers look to be rushing to get the best deals, only accentuating the traditional end of year sales rush with more records set to tumble in November. Here are the numbers as we get them.
BYD
BYD had their best month of the year so far adding an impressive 11% to their September result with 395,105 units being sold, a solid rebound to domination after a recent stagnation in sales.
However, this time last year the brand hit a new record month with over 500,000 units sold, so this year’s result is a sizeable 21% drop, demonstrating that competition continues to heat up in the Chinese mainstream NEV space.
Exports also hit a new record high with markets like the UK becoming increasingly significant as BYD’s best export market, with 83,524 units being delivered abroad in October.
Geely Galaxy
Geely’s Galaxy brand continues to go from strength to strength, 127,476 deliveries in October a new record high for the brand as they continue to hunt down great rivals BYD.
Monthly growth of 5% in October is dwarfed by the bigger picture which shows sales have more than doubled in the past 12 months, and as more new models hit the range, more growth remains on the cards.
Wuling/Baojun
Wuling and Baojun, more so Wuling with them making up all but 5,800 units of a record 123,147 units delivered in October, had a stunning return to form coming within a few thousand units of Geely’s second position and putting clear air between themselves and chasers Leapmotor.
Monthly growth of 22% is quite the achievement at these numbers, and the long term picture continues to impress with an ever-expanding range delivering 25% growth over the same month last year.
Leapmotor
Leapmotor just continues to fly in 2025, hitting a new record high yet again and a new milestone, topping 70,000 units with 70,289 cars delivered in October.
We already know there’s a large SUV in the D19 coming soon, plus the Lafa 5 hatchback, a small SUV we spied ourselves testing near Wuhu, and even an MPV on the way, so while the month-on-month growth of 5% is modest, there’s every chance the year-on-year figures will continue to be well in the double digits like this month’s 84%.
XPeng
XPeng’s turnaround is well and truly complete, a full year of monthly results topping 30,000 units under their belt, and a second consecutive month above 40,000 marking yet another record month for the brand with 42,013 units delivered in October.
That’s just the modest growth on last month at 1%, but a whopping 76% on last year, making XPeng one of the standout brands of 2025 alongside Leapmotor and Fangchengbao.
Next we’d love to see how many of these are export sales to see just how well they’re developing in international markets, but with EREV versions of the X9, G7, and P7+ on the way soon, things look set to continue to soar well into 2026.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi hit a consecutive month with 40,000+ deliveries in October, production of the YU7 starting to ramp up steadily, as demonstrated by the reduced waiting times for still anticipating theirs.
They don’t go into the details of the numbers, so it’s a level month with September, but double their deliveries from last year when only the SU7 was available.
With the second phase of their factory coming on stream, this number could climb a little higher next month.
Deepal
Deepal’s year continues to move in the right direction, 36,792 units now seeing them climb above Li Auto for the first time, a solid 9% improvement on last month and, surprise surprise, a new record month for the brand.
Year-on-year, the brand sits at a market-beating 57%, so things are looking very rosy for Changan’s premium brand even before export sales in key markets start to ramp up.
Qiyuan
Qiyuan’s enormous recent momentum took a surprising turn into the red in October, the brand falling back behind Xiaomi and sister brand Deepal with 36,378 deliveries.
That’s a sizeable 12% drop on last month’s record high, despite the Q07 comfortably selling over 10,000 units on its own, but this is unlikely to be a long-term problem with the new volume Q05 not far from launching, and the year-on-year gain of 102% demonstrating the brand being in rude health.
Li Auto
An anomaly in a sea of positive results, Li Auto’s difficult year continued in October with 31,767 deliveries a 6% drop on last month’s temporary revival, with sales of the i6 and i8 not seemingly making the impact expected just yet.
Deliveries are still ramping up though, and they need to, with the year-on-year result down a whopping 38%, as other brands catch onto what used to be Li Auto’s winning recipe.
Major updates are needed soon to their EREV range to recapture the public’s attention, but the recent headline-grabbing fire and subsequent recall with a large batch of Li MEGAs is not the attention they’re after.
Yipai Technology
Yipai Technology, a collective of Dongfeng new energy brands, reported a consecutive month of sales in October and they seem to be doing well, 31,107 units a 3% improvement on September.
Year-on-year growth is even better, up 35%, and with international sales of models like the Nammi Box and others in markets like Australia and Europe set to begin soon, they might see more improvement.
Fangchengbao
Fangchengbao are the brightest bulb in the BYD box right and their growth continues to impress, a new record month of 31,052 sales in October seeing them jump a staggering 29% over last month.
That’s a mind-boggling 415% growth on last year, evidence that new models in the right segments can have a huge effect if done right, and Fangchengbao are doing just that.
Lynk & Co
Record months are ten a penny at this point, and Lynk & Co keep our trend going with 28,983 new energy units delivered in October, keeping them comfortably ahead of parents Zeekr.
It was another excellent month, up 11% on last month’s new record, and up 45% year-on-year, as the brand’s blend of electric and hybrid cars continues to hit all the right buttons with Chinese consumers.
GAC AION
Things continue to look concerning for GAC AION, whose general sales malaise in 2025 dragged on into October with 27,014 units being a 7% decrease on September’s brief fillip.
The long term picture looks bleak, October’s result this year down 33% on last year, with the brand’s new models just not striking the right chord with customers, at least compared to a strong 2024.
Arcfox
Probably the shock of the month, but one with a solid reason behind it, was delivered by Arcfox whose recent resurgence hit yet another record high with 23,387 units delivered in October.
That’s a market-leading 45% improvement on last month, these new highs inspired by the new T1 hatchback which anecdotally appears to have had a solid start based on our recent trip to Beijing, and a more than doubling of last year’s score.
After perennially hovering around the 10,000 unit mark, the brand seems to now be in a far more comfortable place above 20,000 units so let’s see if they can sustain this.
Zeekr
A very good month for Zeekr wasn’t quite a record but was their high point of a somewhat stagnant year, 21,423 units the brand’s first month over 20,000 this year and a 17% improvement on last month.
Sadly, the longer term picture isn’t quite so rosy, the brand still lagging on their 2024 highs by 14% in October, showing that more work is needed for the brand to build trust and awareness in China where they’re now offering 12C charging on the 001and 7X models.
Onvo
Onvo continues to be the real growth driver in the NIO group, rebounding from a slight pullback in September to hit a new record of 17,342 deliveries in October.
That’s a 14% improvement on last month, and a massive 302% improvement on last October, which was their first month of sales with the L60.
The arrival of the L90 appears to have turned everything around for the brand, raising brand awareness to new heights and even drawing attention to the impressive L60 which had previously struggled to capture the public’s gaze.
Voyah
Another record month? Don’t mind if we do, this time with Voyah who continue to pull away from their 10,000 unit ceiling, hitting 17,218 units in October thanks to a fully refreshed, Huawei-equipped range.
That figure is a solid 13% improvement on last month, and an even more impressive gain of 70% on October last year, so after a somewhat stuttering early couple of years the brand now seems in a far more comfortable position.
NIO (corrected)
The new ES8 has really hit the spot for NIO and their difficult first half of the year seems to finally be behind them, the brand climbing back towards the 20,000 mark with 17,143 units delivered in October.
That’s also a 3% gain on last October, reversing a five-month spell of year-on-year declines, showing a recovery of strength for the main brand driven by a large batch of ES8s seemingly flying out of the factory which continues to ramp up to meet demand.
AVATR
AVATR had their best ever month in October, posting 13,506 deliveries on the board, a 22% improvement on September and an even better gain of 34% on the same month last year.
With just four models in the range at quite a premium price point, things look relatively good for the brand even before exports to established markets begin in 2026, but more models wouldn’t hurt.
IM
IM’s miracle turnaround from a pretty shocking first half of the year seems to be complete, going from refusing to release figures in May to now hitting a solid 13,159 units in October.
The turnaround has been rapid with updates to the key L6 and the introduction of an EREV LS6 doing the trick nicely, good for an 18% gain on last month and a 32% improvement on last year for a new record monthly high.
Sales are now beginning in the UK and Australia, so if things go well, the brand’s darker days may truly be behind them.
Luxeed
Luxeed, like IM, looks to be on a recovery track and claimed a milestone 12,810 delivery figure in October, up an impressive 63% on last month, the first reporting of sales in some time after big refreshes to both models.
The brand themselves didn’t give an exact figure but maker of Luxeed, Chery, offered the updated 12,810 unit number, making it an even more impressive result, and their best ever.
Wey
Wey hit a new record delivery high in October, their 12,699 units a 12% improvement on last month’s record month, as the brand’s range continues to make steady growth.
The result is also almost double that achieved in October last year, suggesting the brand is doing something right, though there’s still some way to go to hit a more comfortable number closer to the 20k mark.
iCAR
iCar’s achieved their best-ever result in October, comfortably clearing the 10k barrier with 12,393 units delivered, proving to be a 15% improvement on last month’s previous best-ever result.
While we don’t have last October’s result, this October result already beating last year’s December peak is a good sign that iCar is starting to make some continued progress, but they need to consistently keep hitting this level, and with the V27 large SUV coming on stream soon, there’s a good chance they will.
Denza
Things are less positive at Denza, the disappointment of the BYD family at present whose October result was even lower than their disrupted January figure and their second lowest of the year at just 10,135 sales.
That’s a not insignificant 18% drop on last month, and a 6% drop on last year despite new and updated models.
The brand needs sales of the Fangchengbao Bao 5 and Bao 8 as the Denza B5 and B8 in Europe and Australia to turn things around, or the new sports coupe to be an outsized hit.
firefly
firefly hit a new record high in October, albeit just a slight improvement on last month with 5,912 units delivered a 2% gain over September.
The brand continues to be hamstrung by limitations on the number of NIO swap stations that the diminutive hatchback can use, but European sales which are starting soon will be less contingent on that so could offer something of a booster before the end of the year.
ROX
We can probably just copy and paste ROX’s monthly summary here, their ambling growth to a record 1,426 units yet another minor 2% growth on September.
As ever, for a brand that isn’t selling cars at the million RMB price point, this cannot be a comfortable or sustainable place to be, but at least they’re still reporting numbers.
Yangwang
Yangwang, as a brand that is selling cars at that kind of price point, dipped slightly in September to just 654 units, a 14% drop on September which was their best month of the year.
Over the longer term, however, while still some way down on their record highs, they’re 119% up on the same month last year, so a reasonable result overall.
