As BYD and Geely hit sales highs, pressure mounts on China’s smaller carmakers

In October, Chinese automotive giants BYD and Geely Auto achieved their highest monthly sales of the year, defying a declining trend in the world's largest auto market. The Shenzhen-based electric vehicle (EV) leader sold 490,168 cars globally, marking an 11% increase year on year, while the Hangzhou-headquartered Geely delivered 310,183 vehicles, up 1% from the previous year.

Analyst Gao Shen suggested that the strong sales of these top players, leveraging their innovative models and cost advantages, were placing increasing pressure on struggling competitors in China's highly competitive automotive market.

To bolster sales overseas, BYD and Geely intensified their global expansion efforts this year. BYD's exports surged 102.8% year on year, with 170,194 EVs sold in October alone. Geely's exports rose 157.8% year on year, with 107,153 vehicles shipped out of the country in the same period. Other leading Chinese automakers also reported impressive sales figures in October, reinforcing the growing consolidation within the country's automotive sector, according to industry experts.

EV assembler Xpeng, based in Guangzhou, delivered 50,237 vehicles worldwide, a 19.6% year-on-year increase, surpassing its previous monthly record of 42,013 units. Chery Group, headquartered in eastern China's Anhui province, reported a 5.3% year-on-year sales growth, with monthly deliveries reaching a 2026 high of 295,934 vehicles.

However, official data on mainland China's overall car market sales for October remains unavailable. Government-backed industry body China Passenger Car Association reported that domestic vehicle sales in the first nine months of 2026 declined by 21.7% compared to the same period the previous year, totaling 15.3 million units.

Despite the bleak outlook for some Chinese carmakers, the country's intelligent vehicles – equipped with entry-level autonomous driving technology – still hold significant untapped potential in the robotaxi market, as highlighted in a Morgan Stanley report. The US bank projected that 1 million self-driving cabs could begin operating in China by 2035.

According to analysts led by Tim Hsiao, head of the Greater China auto and shared mobility research team at Morgan Stanley, China's robotaxi industry is poised for growth, with well-capitalized players operating thousands of driverless fleets on recurring fares, made possible by advancements in artificial intelligence software and hardware costs.