In May, domestic sales of natural gas heavy trucks in China totaled 13,900 vehicles, experiencing a consecutive decrease for two months in a row compared to the previous month.

According to the terminal sales data obtained by the First Commercial Vehicle Network (excluding exports and military products) in May 2026, domestic natural gas heavy trucks had actual sales of 13,900 units, a month-on-month decrease of 55% from April and a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.3%. This resulted in a double decrease in both the month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons. As shown in the chart, after reaching the second highest sales volume in history in March 2026 (second only to June 2019) with 32,000 units, natural gas heavy trucks have seen consecutive month-on-month declines for two months. In May, sales volume dropped to below the average sales volume of the previous year (16,600 units). Compared to the historical high sales in March and April, the cooling of the natural gas heavy truck market in May can be described as a cliff-like drop. The analysis by the First Commercial Vehicle Network attributes the cooling of the natural gas heavy truck market to one main reason: the rapid increase in gas prices. Due to the impact of the situation in the Middle East, domestic natural gas prices have been rising since March 2026. By April, the average LNG ex-factory price exceeded 5,300 yuan per ton, soaring to over 6,000 yuan per ton by the end of the month. In May, gas prices have remained above 6,000 yuan per ton. Starting from the end of April, the refueling prices for LNG in many northern regions rose to 6.3-6.6 yuan per kilogram. Combined with the diesel prices at many private gas stations in the northern region which are below 7 yuan per liter, the price difference between gas and oil in May was only a few cents. This has led to the price-sensitive quasi-natural gas heavy truck users either choosing to wait and see, or even switching to new energy heavy trucks. In May, the overall sales of heavy trucks totaled 75,400 units, an 18% year-on-year decrease. The sales of natural gas heavy trucks in May had a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.3%, still outperforming the overall heavy truck market. In May, the sales volume of 13,900 units of natural gas heavy trucks accounted for only 18.46% of the total terminal sales of heavy trucks, a decrease from the previous month (33.11%, as shown in the chart). From January to May of this year, natural gas heavy trucks accounted for 30.27% of the total, an increase of 5.44 percentage points compared to the entire year of 2025 (24.83%). From January to May 2026, a total of 96,100 natural gas heavy trucks were sold, a year-on-year increase of 23%, with a narrower increase of 5 percentage points compared to after April (+28%). This resulted in sales of 18,100 more units compared to the same period last year. The provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and Xinjiang collectively accounted for nearly 50% of the market, with tractor trucks accounting for over 97% From January to May 2026, natural gas heavy trucks were sold in all 31 provincial-level administrative regions in the country, showing an extremely uneven regional distribution. Regions like Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and Xinjiang had sales exceeding 7,000 units, with the top 5 provinces collectively accounting for nearly 50% of the market share (47.9%, as shown in the chart). (Note: Other provinces include Chongqing, Anhui... Tibet, Hunan, Fujian, etc.) Specifically, the cities with the highest sales of natural gas heavy trucks this year include Shijiazhuang, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Urumqi, Tangshan, and Chongqing. From January to May this year, out of the 96,100 natural gas heavy trucks sold, 93,500 were tractor trucks, accounting for a high 97.31%, an increase of 0.49 percentage points from the same period last year. Special purpose vehicles and dump trucks saw a slight increase in market share compared to last year, while the market share of cargo trucks narrowed by 0.52 percentage points (as shown in the chart). FAW took the top sales crown for the year, Foton/BAIC Heavy Truck led against the trend In May, only 9 companies achieved sales in the natural gas heavy truck market, with 5 companies selling over 1,000 units. FAW sold 3,535 units ranking first in the sales ranking for the first time this year; Jiefang sold 3,375 units closely following in second place; Foton, Dongfeng, and Shaanxi sold 2,495 units, 2,370 units, and 1,738 units respectively, ranking 3rd to 5th. Compared to the same period last year, FAW, Foton, and BAIC Heavy Truck saw year-on-year growth of 19%, 31%, and 35% respectively, achieving growth against the trend. In terms of market share, the top five companies in May collectively held a share of 97.1%, with FAW, Jiefang, Foton, Dongfeng, and Shaanxi achieving monthly market shares of 25.4%, 24.3%, 17.9%, 17.0%, and 12.5% respectively. From January to May, the cumulative sales of 96,100 natural gas heavy trucks represented a 23% increase year-on-year, with a narrower increase of 5 percentage points compared to after April (+28%), resulting in an increase in sales of around 18,100 units compared to the same period in 2025. From January to May 2026, the top ten rankings in terms of terminal sales of natural gas heavy trucks (in units) were as follows: Compared to the sales volume in the same period last year, Jiefang, FAW, Foton, BAIC Heavy Truck, and XCMG saw year-on-year increases of 30%, 38%, 64%, 70%, and 50% respectively, with the growth rates of these companies outpacing the overall market. At the same time, several other companies experienced double-digit declines, with the most severe decline in sales volume by 66% for the top 5 companies in May. In terms of market share, the top five companies accounted for 97.0% of the total market share from January to May 2026, with all TOP5 companies having a market share above 10%. Jiefang and FAW held market shares of 30.7% and 23.5% respectively, ascending to the top 2 positions; Foton, Dongfeng, and Shaanxi held market shares of 15.3%, 15.2%, and 12.3% respectively; BAIC Heavy Truck held a market share of 2.4% at the 6th position, while other companies had a cumulative sales volume of less than 200 units, with market shares below 0.5%. Compared to the same period in 2025, there were 4 companies whose market shares increased. FAW and Foton saw the most significant increases, climbing by 2.5 and 3.8 percentage points respectively, while Jiefang and BAIC Heavy Truck increased by 1.7 and 0.7 percentage points respectively. Other companies experienced varying degrees of decline in market share. Compared to the end-of-year rankings from the previous year, the top two companies, Jiefang and FAW, and companies ranked 6th to 9th, BAIC Heavy Truck, FAW Jiefang, Hongyan, and Beiben, maintained their positions. Foton rose 2 ranks to enter the top 3, while XCMG rose 2 ranks to temporarily hold the 10th position in the industry. However, as of May 2026, only 13 companies had achieved sales in the natural gas heavy truck market, with several companies accumulating sales over the first 5 months of the year totaling less than 100 units. The difference between neighboring companies was not significant, and each company still has the opportunity to catch up. In conclusion, although natural gas heavy truck sales experienced an expected "big plunge" in May, the cumulative sales are still on the rise, with a 23% increase over the first 5 months. The total increase compared to the same period last year was over 18,100 units. The question remains whether the natural gas heavy truck market will continue to be affected by gas prices. Is there still a chance to create new sales records for the year? Please stay tuned with this website for updates.