China exports more than half a million plug-in vehicles in a single month for the first time

In June, China’s new energy vehicle market -that is, pure electric vehicles plus plug-in hybrids- reached a historic milestone. Nearly six out of every ten new cars sold featured alternative propulsion systems, a significant step towards the electrification of transport in the country.

According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), 58.5 per cent of wholesale passenger car sales in June were new energy vehicles. This figure marks a new all-time high for the third consecutive month. In total, 1.643 million such vehicles were sold, up 23.6 per cent year on year and 9.8 per cent on May. Production also grew strongly, reaching almost 1.6 million units (+26 per cent year on year).

Battery electric vehicles continued to lead the segment, with 1.1 million units sold (+33 per cent). Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids recorded 500,000 registrations, with a more modest increase of 6.5 per cent.

First-half data

In the cumulative figures for the first half of the year, China sold 7.45 million new energy vehicles, 7.3 per cent more than in the same period last year. These models accounted for 49.6 per cent of all new passenger car sales, practically level with traditional combustion-engine vehicles.

The overall passenger car market, however, showed a more lukewarm performance. In June, 2.81 million units were sold, a rise of 6.9 per cent compared with May, but a drop of 3.2 per cent compared with June 2025. Weak domestic demand, partly caused by the gradual withdrawal of incentives and direct subsidies, explains this decline.

In this context, exports have become the main driver of the sector: for the first time, they exceeded one million units in a single month (1.037 million), with strong growth of 75.1 per cent year on year.

The export boost was especially notable for new energy vehicles. China exported 523,000 new energy vehicles in June, surpassing the 500,000 monthly mark for the first time. This figure is 1.6 times higher than in the same month of the previous year. Of these, 309,000 were pure electric and 214,000 plug-in hybrids, the latter with a spectacular increase of 90 per cent. In the first six months of the year, total car exports reached 5.1 million (+65.3 per cent), of which 2.36 million were NEVs, more than double the figure for the same period of the previous year.