Tesla falls out of China's top 10 NEV brands as BYD and Xiaomi gain

Tesla drops out of the top 10 in October

Tesla has fallen out of the top 10 best-selling new energy vehicle brands in China, according to retail figures from the CPCA, the country's passenger car association, reported by Notebookcheck. The company sold 8,817 NEVs in October 2026, a sharp fall from its fourth-place position in September. NEVs cover battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

The decline is striking given the scale of the market. Passenger car sales across China reached 23.9 million units in 2025, making it the biggest car market in the world by volume. Rivals fared far better in October: Nio recorded 34,030 sales and Li Auto sold 27,018 vehicles, both well above Tesla's figure.

BYD holds the lead as Xiaomi climbs

BYD remains the clear market leader with 250,301 NEV sales in October and a 22.4% share of the market. Geely took second place with 131,708 vehicles and an 11.8% share, while Leapmotor ranked third with 83,573 sales.

The strongest climber was Xiaomi Auto, which moved from ninth to sixth with 50,123 sales. Its volume rose 25.3% from September, the fastest monthly growth of any brand in the top 10, and 3.0% higher than in the same month last year.

A difficult year for Tesla in China

The October slump is not an isolated dip. Over the first ten months of 2026, Tesla slipped from fifth to seventh place in the cumulative brand rankings. It sold 389,905 NEVs in China from January to October, a decline of 15.0% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Xiaomi, by contrast, returned to the top 10 over that period with 336,613 sales, closing the gap to Tesla. BYD dominated the year-to-date table with 1.945 million NEVs sold.

There are further signs of pressure on the American carmaker's standing.

A shrinking market, but record EV share

Tesla's fall comes during a broader downturn in China's car market. Overall passenger car sales fell 27.1% year over year in October to 1,643,000 units, according to the CPCA figures. Sales of new energy vehicles dropped 13.7% to 1,109,000.

Even so, electrified cars keep gaining ground. NEVs reached a record 67.5% of passenger car retail sales in October, meaning electric cars and plug-in hybrids now make up a larger slice of the market than ever before, even though total volumes sit below last year's levels.

Why the rankings matter

China is the most important market for electric vehicles, and brand positions there shape global competition. Tesla's exit from the monthly top 10, alongside its weakening year-to-date standing, shows how quickly domestic rivals such as BYD, Geely, Leapmotor and Xiaomi have expanded their offers.

The figures come from the CPCA's retail data as reported by Notebookcheck, which is not among the most widely corroborated outlets, so the exact numbers should be treated with some caution until the association's own publications are confirmed. Still, the overall picture is consistent: BYD leads, Xiaomi is rising, and Tesla is losing share in the world's largest car market.