Combustion engines disappear from China’s bestselling car rankings

Internal combustion engine vehicles completely disappeared from the list of China's top 10 best-selling passenger cars in May. All models in the top 10 were New Energy Vehicles; either fully electric cars, or plug-in hybrids. Meanwhile, the top five best-selling models on the Chinese market were exclusively pure electric vehicles.

Geely ex2 cropped — Best-selling car in China: Geely EX2
Image: Geely

May 2026 marked a historic moment for China’s automotive market: for the first time, not a single vehicle with a pure combustion engine appeared among the country’s top 10 best-selling passenger car models. The ranking for May consisted exclusively of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), which in China include battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and vehicles with range extenders (EREVs).

While sales of electric cars, PHEVs, and EREVs in China have long surpassed those in Europe, this development represents a pivotal milestone. In recent months, the number of combustion engine models in the top 10 had gradually declined, culminating in the departure of the last remaining internal combustion SUV, the Geely Binyue, which had still featured in the top 10 in April.

The ranking is as follows:

Geely Xingyuan (EX2) with 38,7512 units
Tesla Model Y with 28,9113 units
Xiaomi SU7 with 24,0234 units
Leapmotor A10 with 22,306 units
Li Auto i6 with 20,8786 units
BYD Sealion 06 with 18,856 units
Tesla Model 3 with 18,370 units
Wuling Hongguang Mini EV with 18,308 units
Aito M6 with 18,148 units
Fang Cheng Bao Ti7 with 17,510 units

That NEVs would eventually displace combustion engine vehicles from China’s top 10 was, in principle, foreseeable: in the fourth quarter of 2025, New Energy Vehicles surpassed the 50 per cent threshold of total passenger car sales in China for the first time. According to data from the industry association China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM): by April, plug-in vehicles had reached a market share of 53.2 per cent in wholesale sales – which covers all vehicles manufactured in China, including those for the domestic market and exports.

No figures from CAAM are yet available for May, so a direct comparison cannot be made at this stage. However, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) was quicker to report, citing an NEV market share of 62.9 per cent in May 2026. It is important to note, however, that this figure refers solely to retail sales – vehicles sold directly to end customers. While CAAM’s data reflects production, including export vehicles, CPCA’s figures focus on sales within China.

carnewschina.com, cnevpost.com