---
title: "Automakers' share in China's NEV market in May: BYD ranks first with 21.8%, Tesla returns to top five"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/289261344.md"
description: "In May 2026, BYD led China's NEV market with a 21.8% share and 207,372 units sold. Tesla rebounded sharply to rank fifth with 47,281 units (5% share), returning to the top 10. Geely and Changan ranked second and third. In the broader passenger car market, BYD also held the top spot with a 13.7% share."
datetime: "2026-06-10T02:13:01.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/289261344.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/289261344.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/289261344.md)
---

# Automakers' share in China's NEV market in May: BYD ranks first with 21.8%, Tesla returns to top five

A BYD Seal 06 GT on display at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026. Credit: CnEVPost

> -   Tesla's retail sales in China rebounded sharply to 47,281 units in May, returning to the top 10 NEV list and entering the top 10 in the overall passenger car market.
> -   In the overall passenger car market, BYD ranked first in retail sales with a 13.7% share in May.

Top automakers with highest passenger NEV retail sales in China in May 2026

0

50K

100K

150K

200K

250K

Top automakers with highest passenger NEV retail sales in China in May 2026

Ranking

Automaker

NEV Sales

Market Share

1

BYD

207,372

21.8%

2

Geely

109,198

11.5%

3

Changan

62,865

6.6%

4

Leapmotor

61,401

6.5%

5

Tesla China

47,281

5%

6

SAIC-GM-Wuling

47,191

5%

7

HIMA

46,124

4.9%

8

Nio

37,617

4%

9

Seres

34,320

3.6%

10

Li Auto

33,350

3.5%

BYD (HKEX: 1211) continued to maintain its position as China's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) maker in May, while Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) returned to the top 10 due to a sharp rebound in retail sales.

BYD's retail sales of passenger NEVs in China were 207,372 units in May, down 29.2% year-on-year but up 13.9% month-on-month, according to rankings released Tuesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The company continued to rank first with a 21.8% share in May, up from 21.4% in April, maintaining its lead over second-place Geely Auto (HKEX: 0175).

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Geely's NEV retail sales in May were 109,198 units, down 16.3% year-on-year while up 14.2% month-on-month. It ranked second in China's NEV market with an 11.5% share.

Changan Automobile ranked third with retail sales of 62,865 units, capturing a 6.6% share. Its monthly NEV sales decreased by 15.0% year-on-year and dipped slightly by 2.5% month-on-month.

Tesla's retail sales in China were 47,281 units in May, up 22.5% from a year earlier and rising 82.2% from April.

This allowed the US electric vehicle (EV) maker to return to the top 10 list of NEV retail sales in China, ranking fifth with a 5.0% share.

In April, Tesla's retail sales in China were 25,956 units, falling significantly both year-on-year and month-on-month, causing it to drop out of the top 10 NEV retail sales list.

Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) ranked eighth with retail sales of 37,617 units in May, capturing a 4.0% share. The sales represented a 61.9% year-on-year growth and a 28.3% increase from April.

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) ranked tenth in the NEV market with retail sales of 33,350 units in May, capturing a 3.5% share. Its sales decreased by 18.4% year-on-year and 2.2% month-on-month.

In the January-May period, BYD's NEV retail sales were 766,401 units, down 39.1% year-on-year, ranking first with a 20.7% share.

Top automakers with highest NEV retail sales in China in Jan-May 2026

Top automakers with highest NEV retail sales in China in Jan-May 2026

Ranking

NEV Automaker

Sales

Market Share

1

BYD

766,401

20.7%

2

Geely

470,396

12.7%

3

Changan

254,767

6.9%

4

HIMA

191,592

5.2%

5

Leapmotor

187,817

5.1%

6

Tesla China

186,035

5%

7

Li Auto

162,577

4.4%

8

SAIC-GM-Wuling

159,307

4.3%

9

Xiaomi EV

150,317

4.1%

10

Nio

150,123

4.1%

Geely's NEV retail sales in the January-May period were 470,396 units, down 17.6% year-on-year, ranking second with a 12.7% share.

Tesla's retail sales in China in the January-May period were 186,035 units, down 7.9% year-on-year, ranking sixth with a 5.0% share.

Nio's retail sales in the January-May period were 150,123 units, up 68.4% year-on-year, ranking 10th with a 4.1% share.

In the overall passenger car market, which includes traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, BYD ranked first in retail sales in May, capturing a 13.7% share.

Top automakers with highest passenger car retail sales in China in May 2026

0

50K

100K

150K

200K

250K

Top automakers with highest passenger car retail sales in China in May 2026

Ranking

Automaker

Sales

Market Share

1

BYD

207,372

13.7%

2

Geely

169,344

11.2%

3

Changan

92,322

6.1%

4

FAW-Volkswagen

83,750

5.5%

5

Chery

67,113

4.4%

6

Leapmotor

61,401

4.1%

7

SAIC-Volkswagen

55,700

3.7%

8

GAC Toyota

55,048

3.6%

9

SAIC-GM-Wuling

54,207

3.6%

10

Tesla China

47,281

3.1%

Geely Auto ranked second with 169,344 units sold and an 11.2% share.

Changan ranked third in the overall passenger car retail ranking with 92,322 units sold and a 6.1% share.

Tesla was among the top 10 of China's overall passenger car market in May, ranking tenth with a 3.1% share.

In China's overall passenger car retail sales for the January-May period, Geely ranked first with 848,116 units sold and an 11.9% share.

Top automakers with highest retail sales in China in Jan-May 2026

Top automakers with highest retail sales in China in Jan-May 2026

Ranking

Automaker

Sales

Market Share

1

Geely

848,116

11.9%

2

BYD

766,401

10.8%

3

FAW-Volkswagen

476,982

6.7%

4

Changan

447,716

6.3%

5

Chery

338,065

4.8%

6

SAIC-Volkswagen

317,980

4.5%

7

GAC Toyota

280,748

4%

8

FAW Toyota

229,830

3.2%

9

SAIC-GM-Wuling

215,153

3%

10

GWM

194,189

2.7%

BYD ranked second in the overall passenger car market in the January-May period with 766,401 units sold and a 10.8% share.

FAW-Volkswagen ranked third in the overall passenger car market with 476,982 units sold and a 6.7% share.

BYD only produces NEV models, including battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models. Tesla only produces BEV models. Geely and Changan both have traditional fuel vehicle lineups.

Wrap-up: May 2026 deliveries for major Chinese automakers

Based on the data released so far, most automakers saw a rebound in sales in May, gradually emerging from the off-season that began at the start of the year.

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