No more fuel vehicles in the top ten sales list: "Fuel retreating, electricity advancing" accelerates
2026-06-12
In May, fuel-powered vehicles completely withdrew from the top ten list of domestic passenger car retail sales. Last month, there was still one fuel-powered vehicle on the list.
According to data released by the China Passenger Car Association, in May, the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles reached a historical high of 62.9%. Correspondingly, the market share of fuel vehicles shrank to 37.1%.
Due to the severe impact of high oil prices, retail sales of fuel-powered vehicles fell across the board last month, with domestic brands declining by 39%, mainstream joint venture brands by 41%, and luxury brands by 31%.
The data sends a clear signal: "Oil is retreating while electricity is advancing", and the accelerator is being pressed.
In the past, traditional fuel vehicles could compete with new energy vehicles in the market not by relying on a single advantage, but by relying on a complete competitive system - the predictability of total lifecycle costs, the convenience of energy replenishment, and the reliability verified over a long period of time. These advantages became the three trump cards of traditional fuel vehicles.
However, as the wave of electrification advances, the three trump cards are being defeated one by one.
First and foremost is the issue of value retention. The terminal selling prices of fuel-powered vehicles have been experiencing a "fracture-like" decline, shattering the "myth of fuel-powered vehicle value retention rate". Taking the Nissan Sylphy, which was once the domestic sales champion, as an example, the current transaction price of a used classic fuel-powered version of the Nissan Sylphy, registered in 2024, is only around 40,000 yuan. Two years ago, the mainstream transaction price of a Sylphy with less than three years of age was still around 60,000 yuan. The reason behind this is that the significant price reduction of new vehicles directly drives down the residual value of used vehicles.
This is not an isolated case. In 2020, the three-year retention rate of mainstream joint venture fuel vehicles generally ranged from 50% to 70%, with Japanese brands leading the way. However, according to the statistics on the retention rate for the first quarter of 2026 released by the China Automobile Dealers Association, the average three-year retention rate of domestic ordinary joint venture household fuel vehicles has dropped to 43.12%, while that of self-owned brand fuel vehicles is 38.84%.
As the accelerating decline in the residual value rate of fuel-powered vehicles becomes increasingly evident, the psychological defenses of more and more consumers who were initially on the fence are being breached, prompting them to embrace new energy vehicles.
Now let's look at the issue of energy replenishment. With continuous breakthroughs in flash charging technology, the energy replenishment network for new energy vehicles in high-speed service areas and urban business districts is becoming increasingly perfect. The energy replenishment efficiency of some new energy vehicles has begun to match or even surpass that of fuel vehicles, and the charging issue is no longer a weakness of new energy vehicles.
Lastly, let's look at the issue of technical reliability. According to the 2026 China New Energy Vehicle New Car Quality Study released by J.D. Power, an American automotive research institution, the increase in industry quality complaints has slowed down to a recent low, and the proportion of unique issues related to new energy vehicles remains low.
Consumers' "anxiety about reliability" towards new energy vehicles is diminishing, and the establishment of trust has reinforced the trend of "switching from oil to electricity".
Recently, influenced by factors such as the rise in prices of automotive-grade storage chips and the rebound of raw material prices, over ten domestic new energy vehicle manufacturers have increased their selling prices or tightened their discounts, with the range varying from 2,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan. However, in May, the penetration rate of the new energy vehicle market did not shrink, and the top ten retail sales rankings have already indicated the trend - except for Tesla, the rest are all domestic brands.
What deserves more attention is that the recognition of domestic new energy vehicles continues to rise and their sales are growing rapidly, not only in the domestic market, but also in the export market, which is opening up broader prospects.
In May, new energy vehicles accounted for 54.0% of total exports, an increase of 9 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The iteration of electrification and overseas exports have become the core support for the long-term growth of the industry.
From batteries, motors, and electronic controls to chips, software, and intelligent cockpits... China's new energy vehicle industry has established the most complete and cost-competitive ecosystem globally, and is extending and sharing the advantages of the entire industrial chain to the world.
At this rate, the timeframe for fuel-powered vehicles to transition from "exiting the top ten" to "withdrawing from the mainstream market" may be much shorter than people anticipate.
Of course, this should not be interpreted as a "tragic song" of an industry, but rather as a "prelude" to a new era, with its significance extending far beyond the structural changes in the automotive market.
For consumers, this means better products, lower vehicle costs, and a smarter travel experience. For China, this is a historic opportunity to move from being a "big automobile country" to a "powerful automobile country." (Outlooking New Era)
Edit:Luoyu Responsible editor:Jiajia
Source:chinanews.com
Special statement: if the pictures and texts reproduced or quoted on this site infringe your legitimate rights and interests, please contact this site, and this site will correct and delete them in time. For copyright issues and website cooperation, please contact through outlook new era email：lwxsd@liaowanghn.com
Recommended Reading Change it
