Price wars and sales drop put China EV makers on survival footing for 2026

China’s electric vehicle market is no longer exploding, it’s tightening. The gold rush is fading, and automakers are being dragged into a brutal fight to survive. In 2025, both Tesla and BYD posted lower sales, with Tesla down 7.4% and BYD falling 5.1% from the year before. The drop got uglier in November, when BYD’s numbers collapsed by 26.5%. And while they stumbled, the flashy newcomers, including cars backed by Huawei and Xiaomi, took off with sales growth above 90%. But the old darlings aren’t the only ones sweating. Those early U.S.-listed names (Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto) didn’t even crack the top 10 sellers, even though they’ve been improving monthly delivery numbers. It didn’t matter. This is no longer a market where every player wins just by showing up. Chinese market gets more crowded as discounts explode There’s no more room for small talk. The market is now concentrated...

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/china-ev-makers-on-survival-footing-for-2026/