China auto retail sales slide 24% as exports surge 78%
China auto retail sales fell 24% to 1.54M vehicles last month, while exports rose 78% to 888K and made up 38% of total sales. Auto-industry margins slid to 3.6% in the first seven months of the year.
54M vehicles last month, with YTD sales down more than 20%. At the same time, exports jumped 78% to 888K vehicles and now account for 38% of total sales, up from roughly 20% a year ago. That export shift is becoming increasingly important as China's domestic price war squeezes profitability. 5% across China's broader downstream industrial sector.
BYD raised its 2026 overseas-sales target to as much as 2M vehicles and exported more than 184K new-energy vehicles in August.