China Automobile Dealers Association: Passenger car terminal sales are expected to reach 1.6 million units in August
The Zhitong Finance App learned that the China Automobile Dealers Association released the semi-monthly passenger car market report for August 2026. In August, the car market entered the operating range of transition from low season to peak season. Hot weather in the early stages suppressed market activity for a short period of time, and the temperature gradually declined in late. Combined with multiple benefits, concentrated release, market resilience will begin to show. Dealers' momentum in the third quarter, the 818 car shopping festival, optimized car purchase subsidies in many places, the Chengdu Auto Show and regional fall auto shows, and summer car purchase demand formed multiple supports, effectively mitigating consumers' wait-and-see sentiment, driving simultaneous restoration of passenger flow, orders, and transactions. The overall trend was weak to positive. Passenger car terminal sales are expected to reach 1.6 million units for the month of August.
Based on the dealer's feedback on customer attraction, sales volume, and inventory biweekly report data, it can be seen that:
The number of visitors attracted in the first half of August increased by 5.0% compared to the same period in July, and decreased by 18.4% compared to the second half of July. In early August, widespread midsummer high temperatures across the country, typhoons and heavy rainfall in some regions curtailed consumers' willingness to travel offline to see and test drive cars; the intense heat gradually eased in mid-late August, effectively reducing consumers' travel resistance to going out to see cars, and creating basic conditions for a recovery in passenger flow. Combined with the 818 Auto Shopping Festival marketing campaign, the major Chengdu Auto Show at the end of August, and the opening of fall auto shows one after another in many places, multiple traffic nodes will boost store customer attraction.
Orders for the first half of August increased by 3.5% compared to the same period in July and decreased by 24.3% from the second half of July. The first half of August was affected by extreme weather such as high temperatures and heavy rainfall in some regions, and the release of demand for car purchases was suppressed. Overall, the increase in orders was not much different compared to the first half of July. At the beginning of August, some provinces and cities across the country introduced impressive car purchase subsidy policies, gradually weakening consumers' wait-and-see sentiment; in the second half of the month, with the opening of the 818 Auto Shopping Festival, the Chengdu Auto Show, and the local Autumn Auto Show, dealer promotions increased simultaneously, and new orders are expected to rise steadily.
Sales in the first half of August increased slightly by 0.7% compared to the same period in July, and decreased by 31.9% from the second half of July. The conversion of orders to transactions in the first half of August is still in the repair period. The hot and rainy weather affected vehicle delivery efficiency to a certain extent. Entering the second half of the month, the pace of dealers' tasks for the third quarter will accelerate, and the planned orders accumulated in the early stages will accelerate transformation; the superposition of local car purchase subsidies, 818 centralized promotions, the Chengdu Auto Show and regional fall auto shows to drive landing transactions, and the centralized release of demand for car purchases before the start of the school season will drive a recovery in sales in the second half of August.
Inventory for the first half of August increased slightly by 0.5% compared to the end of July. In July-August, the market was operating during the off-season. Dealers' willingness to actively replenish stocks was sluggish. The wholesale side of OEMs contracted simultaneously, and the overall inventory level did not change much.
