{"id":60138896,"date":"2026-06-18T18:51:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T17:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=news_digest&p=60138896"},"modified":"2026-06-23T15:50:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T14:50:20","slug":"all-top-10-bestselling-cars-in-china-in-may-were-new-energy-vehicles","status":"publish","type":"news_digest","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/all-top-10-bestselling-cars-in-china-in-may-were-new-energy-vehicles\/","title":{"rendered":"All 10 bestselling cars in China in May were new energy vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In May 2026, all of the top ten bestselling cars in China were new energy passenger vehicles, notes a report<\/a> from the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) published on 9 June. This marks the first time that no combustion vehicles appear on the list, reports<\/a> New Hunan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CADA report defines \u201cnew energy passenger vehicles\u201d as battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and extended-range electric vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, around six out of every 10 cars sold were new energy vehicles (NEVs) \u2013 a record high, the report notes. However, overall domestic retail auto sales that month saw a year-on-year decrease of 22.1%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the retail market penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in China \u2013 meaning the NEV share of consumer auto sales \u2013 reached nearly 54%<\/a>. This marked the turning point of new energy vehicles becoming the automotive market\u2019s mainstream product. In April 2026, the 60% mark was surpassed for the first time, reports<\/a> China Business Network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The emission reduction from the increased NEV sales remains to be seen. Amid intensified competition, many carmakers are launching<\/a> larger high-end vehicles. These vehicles are heavier mainly due to their bigger batteries, and generally consume more energy, reducing the efficiency gains associated with electrification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The emission reduction benefits of electric vehicles also depend on the degree of decarbonisation of the power grid. A recent paper published in Sustainable Energy Research notes<\/a> that vehicle electrification \u201cmust align with clean energy transition to achieve carbon neutrality\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Dialogue Earth\u2019s previous <\/em>analysis<\/em><\/a> on China\u2019s electric-vehicle-to-grid charging.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In May 2026, all of the top ten bestselling cars in China were new energy passenger vehicles, notes a new China Automobile Dealers Association report<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60006649,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_has_post_settings":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[757],"tags":[513,13444,580],"country":[20000110],"digest-collection":[50039911],"class_list":["post-60138896","news_digest","type-news_digest","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-carbon-emissions","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-policy","country-china"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAll 10 bestselling cars in China in May were new energy vehicles | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In May 2026, all of the top ten bestselling cars in China were new energy passenger vehicles, notes a new China Automobile Dealers Association report\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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