China's passenger car retail sales fell 27.1% from a year earlier to 1.643 million vehicles in October, final figures from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Monday, as Xiaomi's car unit posted its best month of the year and Tesla's sales in the country dropped to their lowest since mid-2022.

The data matter for investors in Hong Kong-listed carmakers because October is usually one of the strongest selling months of the year. The association said the most striking feature of the month was weakness in a traditionally busy season, according to CnEVPost. Retail sales rose only 1.5% from September, and the total came in below the group's preliminary estimate of 1.693 million.

For the first 10 months, retail sales reached 14.98 million vehicles, down 22.3% from a year earlier.

Electric cars take a record share of a smaller market

Sales of new energy vehicles, which include battery electric, plug-in hybrid and extended-range models, fell 13.7% to 1.109 million in October. That was the 10th straight monthly decline on the year. Because gasoline cars fell faster, electrified models took a record 67.5% of retail sales.

The association pointed to high oil prices as a reason buyers kept shifting to electric cars. It said tighter eligibility rules for purchase subsidies discouraged first-time buyers, which hurt sales of minicars and compact models, CnEVPost reported.

Battery electric models held up best, with retail sales down 5.3% to 770,000. Plug-in hybrids fell 37.2% to 226,000. Extended-range vehicles rose 1% to 114,000, helped mainly by Xiaomi and Leapmotor.

Chinese brands felt the pressure most. Their electric vehicle retail sales fell 15%, and their share of the segment slipped 2.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 68.2%. Mainstream joint-venture brands grew 69% from a small base.

Exports kept factories running. Shipments of electric passenger cars abroad jumped 144.7% to 582,000 in October, and wholesale sales of such vehicles, which count exports, rose 9.8% to 1.772 million. Earlier this month, BYD reported that its October sales reached a 2026 high as its exports doubled.

Xiaomi's new SUVs carry the month

Xiaomi Auto, the car unit of Xiaomi, delivered 50,168 vehicles in October, according to the association's report. The company had said on Nov. 1 only that deliveries exceeded 50,000. The total rose 3.11% from a year earlier and 25.37% from September, based on figures compiled by CnEVPost, and fell 44 vehicles short of the record set in December 2025.

The growth came from the Sky Nomad series, Xiaomi's first extended-range models, which went on sale on Sept. 7. Combined deliveries of the N70 and N90 reached 27,147, more than half of the monthly total for the first time. Xiaomi said in October that locked-in orders for the series passed 70,000 within 30 days of launch.

The older battery electric lineup kept shrinking. SU7 sedan deliveries fell 13.39% on the year to 12,984, and YU7 SUV deliveries dropped 70.18% to 10,037.

Xiaomi has delivered 336,658 vehicles so far this year, or about 61% of its 550,000 annual target, CnEVPost calculated. Meeting the goal would require average deliveries of about 106,700 a month in November and December, roughly twice October's level.

Nio's flagship models also cooled. The ES8 SUV delivered 8,738 vehicles in October, down 17.14% from September and its lowest this year, though still up 30.11% on the year. The larger ES9 delivered 6,714, down 12.87% from September. Nio and Li Auto both reported deliveries that fell on the year and on the month when they released October figures on Nov. 1.

Tesla's Shanghai plant turns to exports

Tesla's domestic sales in China fell to an estimated 8,817 vehicles in October, down 66.1% from a year earlier and 86.4% from September, according to CnEVPost's calculation from association data. It was the first month below 10,000 since July 2022, CarNewsChina reported.

The Shanghai factory shipped 59,012 vehicles abroad, up 66.3% on the year. Exports made up 87% of the plant's wholesale volume of 67,829, the highest share in its history. Tesla's share of China's electric vehicle retail market fell to 0.80% from 2.03% a year earlier.

To revive demand, Tesla on Oct. 30 cut the minimum down payment on five-year, interest-free loans for selected Model 3 and Model Y versions to 39,900 yuan from 79,900 yuan, CarNewsChina reported. The offer covers orders placed through Nov. 30.

The next tests come quickly. Xiaomi needs a record November to keep its annual target within reach, and Chinese carmakers usually report monthly deliveries on the first day of the following month.