Domestic joint-venture cars are really struggling to sell! In July, for every 10 new cars sold domestically, 7 were from domestic self-owned brands.

The Passenger Car Association recently released an in-depth analysis report on the national passenger car market for July 2026, with country-specific data revealing the accelerating decline of joint venture brands.

Data shows that in July, Chinese brands retailed 1.038 million vehicles, accounting for 71.1% of the total 1.461 million units sold that month, meaning that for every 10 new cars sold domestically, 7 were domestic brands.

The joint venture camp suffered across-the-board declines with no exceptions. German brands retailed 181,000 units in July, down 31.7% year-on-year, with market share falling from 14.4% in the same period last year to 12.4%. Japanese brands retailed 160,000 units, down 32.3% year-on-year, with share shrinking to just 10.9%.

American brands retailed 61,000 units, plunging 36.0% year-on-year, with share contracting to 4.2%. Korean brands retailed 13,000 units, down 32.7% year-on-year, with share at only 0.9%. French brands retailed just 2,022 units, down 37.9% year-on-year, with share falling to 0.2%. Other European brands retailed 5,523 units, with a year-on-year decline of 53.7%, nearly halved.

Looking at the trend line, the rise of domestic brands has been remarkably rapid. In 2023, Chinese brands held a 51.9% market share, rising to 60.1% in 2024, reaching 65.6% in 2025, and jumping straight to 71.1% in July this year.

In three years, domestic brands have gone from holding "half the market" to commanding "seven-tenths of the market." Correspondingly, German share has slid from 20.5% in 2023 to 12.4%, Japanese from 17.0% to 10.9%, American from 13.7% to 4.2%, and Korean has fallen from 7.9% to 0.9%, nearly marginalized.

Cumulative data also confirms this trend. From January to July this year, Chinese brands retailed 6.677 million units cumulatively, down 18.6% year-on-year, but market share has reached 65.6%, up 5.4 percentage points from the same period last year.

In July, the overall passenger car market retailed 1.461 million units, down 20.9% year-on-year and 8.8% month-on-month. Against the backdrop of a declining overall market, domestic brands have seen sales dip as well, but their share continues to expand, while joint venture brands' declines far exceed the market average. In an environment where new energy vehicle penetration continues to climb, joint venture brands with sluggish electrification transitions are being rapidly pushed off the table.