Tesla has dropped out of the leading 10 new energy vehicle (NEV) brands in China, based on the latest retail figures from the CPCA passenger car association. The company sold 8,817 NEVs in October 2026, a category that covers both fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
Tesla had ranked fourth in September. For comparison, Nio sold 34,030 vehicles and Li Auto sold 27,018 over the same reporting period.
BYD and Geely lead October’s NEV rankings
BYD topped the list with 250,301 NEV sales and a 22.4% market share, while Geely followed with 131,708 sales and an 11.8% share. Leapmotor placed third with 83,573 NEVs.
Xiaomi Auto climbed from ninth to sixth with 50,123 sales. Its sales rose 25.3% from September, the strongest monthly growth among the top 10 brands, and were up 3.0% on last year.
Tesla slips in year-to-date and innovation rankings
Over the first ten months of the year, Tesla fell from fifth to seventh place. It sold 389,905 NEVs in China from January to October, a 15.0% decline on the same period last year.
Xiaomi returned to the top 10 with 336,613 sales, while BYD led with 1.945 million NEVs. Tesla also slid from sixth to 11th in the long-term standings of an EV innovation ranking in October.
China’s car market shrinks as EV share hits record
China’s overall passenger car market fell 27.1% in October from a year earlier, with 1,643,000 cars sold. NEV sales dropped 13.7% to 1,109,000.
Even so, NEVs made up a record 67.5% of passenger car retail sales. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids now account for a bigger share of the market than ever, although total sales are lower than last year.
