China Automobile Dealers Association: The car market is expected to pick up in August. Continuity remains to be seen

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on August 10, the China Automobile Dealers Association released the results of the July 2026 “Auto Dealer Inventory” survey: The overall inventory coefficient for car dealers in July was 1.48, down 6.3% from the previous month, and up 9.6% from the previous year. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, car market sales in August are expected to be better than July. Although the beginning of the school season has formed some support with 818 promotions, pressures such as high temperatures curbing passenger flow, strong wait-and-see sentiment, and high dealer inventory have not been completely relieved, and the continuation of market recovery remains to be seen.

The inventory coefficient increased year on year and decreased month on month in January and July

The overall operation of the passenger car market was weak in July, and terminal demand continued to be sluggish due to the off-season effect. Impulse promotions in mid-June overdrew follow-up demand, compounded by extreme weather such as high temperatures in midsummer, heavy typhoons and rainfall, which curtailed offline passenger flow and delivery. Coupled with no holiday consumption incentives, consumers held coins and waited strongly. The household exchange cycle was lengthened, and the retail side lacked incremental support, and the market returned to a seasonal decline. Dealers' willingness to actively replenish stocks was sluggish, and the wholesale side of OEMs contracted at the same time. At the same time, in order to relieve financial pressure and speed up the digestion of inventory, total channel inventory decreased compared to the end of June.

According to car market scan data released by the China Automobile Dealers Association, the national passenger car market retailed 1,506 million vehicles in July. According to this estimate, the total inventory of car dealers at the end of July was about 2.2 million vehicles, and the overall inventory scale of the channel decreased compared to the end of June.

2. Inventory factors for high-end luxury, imported, and joint venture brands declined month-on-month, and independent brands increased month-on-month

The inventory coefficient for high-end luxury and imported brands was 1.55, and the inventory coefficient decreased 16.7% month-on-month; the inventory coefficient for joint venture brands was 1.54, down 13.0% month-on-month; and the inventory coefficient for independent brands was 1.44, up 0.7% month-on-month.

The brand with the highest inventory depth in March and July

According to the survey, there were a total of 4 brands whose inventory depth of mainstream brands was greater than 2 months in July, down from the previous month. They are ranked by inventory depth from highest to lowest: FAW Hongqi, Dongfeng Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, and FAW-Volkswagen.

The China Automobile Dealers Association suggests that dealers should rationally estimate market demand and reasonably control inventory levels according to the actual situation. At the same time, it is necessary to increase publicity on “trade-in and end-of-life renewal policies”, boost consumer confidence by strengthening services, put cost reduction and efficiency first, and prevent business risks.