Weak year-end sales cloud China’s EV outlook, keeping price-war fears alive
A weaker-than-expected year-end rush and falling deliveries at major brands are stoking fears of another price war
Lacklustre sales at the end of 2025 will bode ill for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) market this year, with low-priced carmakers under pressure to offer further price cuts amid an adjusted trade-in subsidy mechanism.
“As deliveries failed to live up to expectations, all major players would have to slash prices of their vehicles to reduce their inventories at the beginning of 2026,” said Zhao Zhen, a sales director at Shanghai dealer Wan Zhuo Auto. “Competition is getting fiercer this year because of weaker demand for new cars.”
Li Auto, a premium EV maker, handed 44,246 units to customers last month, a drop of 24.4 per cent from the same period in 2024. Both companies are among the few profitable carmakers in mainland China.
It was expected that EV deliveries would jump sharply in December as consumers rushed to complete purchases before Beijing began phasing out tax incentives and cutting subsidies in 2026. However, initial results showed that sales were far below carmakers’ and analysts’ forecasts.