Continued tailwinds for new energy vehicle sales in China

Research evidence excerpt

Continued tailwinds for new energy vehicle sales in China

11 June 2026

Mizuho Securities Equity Research Strategy / Equity

Asia Equity Strategy

Major EV makers aiming to expand business by entering robot market

Senior China Equity Strategist: Price cuts for gasoline-powered vehicles spread, new energy

Shenshen Wang vehicles recover

+81 3 6202 8480 New car sales in China appear to have stopped weakening. According to

shenshen.wang@mizuho-sc.com data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, new car sales

(including exports) fell 2.1% YoY to 2.629m vehicles in May, mirroring the

2.5% decline in April. Domestic sales fell 20.4% YoY, with the pace of decline

narrowing from the previous month, partly thanks to a recovery in new energy

vehicle (NEV) sales. Domestic sales of NEVs were down 4.1%, remaining in

negative territory but marking an improvement from the double-digit decline

seen in April. As we noted in our 13 May report, automakers’ sales campaigns

and the resumption of government subsidies appear to have boosted sales

of NEVs. However, higher gasoline prices hurt sales of gas vehicles, which

fell 37.5% YoY in volume terms in May, down sharply for the second straight

month. The buildup of gas vehicle inventories has put downward pressure

on prices, and whereas price cuts had previously been focused on models in

the mid- and low-end price ranges, they spread to high-end models in May,

which drew considerable attention. According to the China Passenger Car

Association, prices were lowered for 32 gas-powered vehicle models in Jan–

May, marking a YoY increase of 13 models. Overseas automakers, which have

high sales weightings for gas vehicles, have continued to struggle. Of note,

BMW lowered new model launch prices, while sales were sluggish for Toyota