Cui Dongshu: Imported vehicles from January to September 2026 totaled 290,000 units, down 20% year-on-year.

Zhitong Finance APP has learned that Cui Dongshu of the China Passenger Car Association stated in an article that in September 2026, imported vehicle imports totaled 21,000 units, down 49% year-on-year and down 6% month-on-month, an alarming decline. From January to September 2026, imported automobiles totaled 290,000 units, down 20% year-on-year. In this year's automobile import structure, passenger vehicles accounted for an absolute dominant position of over 99%; if pickups among light trucks are included, the share of passenger vehicles is even higher. From January to September 2026, imports of hybrid vehicles performed very well with a 15% increase, while pure electric passenger vehicles fell 27% and plug-in hybrids fell 54%, indicating weak performance of imported new energy passenger vehicles. The imported passenger vehicle models are concentrated in gasoline models with engine displacement below 2 liters. Last year, 3-4 liter models showed relatively good resilience against the decline, while this year 1.5-2 liter models are relatively better.