BYD exported 174,277 passenger new energy vehicles (NEVs — battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models) in September, up 151.6% year-on-year but down 5.2% from August, according to rankings the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on Tuesday. The Shenzhen automaker's share of China's NEV export market fell to 31.1% from 35.4% in August, yet it still held a lead of more than 88,000 units over the next competitor.

The bigger shift came one position lower. Chery exported 85,990 NEVs, up 173.9% year-on-year and 25.7% month-on-month, overtaking Geely for second place with a 15.3% share, up from 13.2% in August. Geely slipped to third on 72,893 units — still up 398.2% year-on-year — with its share easing to 13.0% from 13.5%.

What does the September table change for exporters?

It widens the field behind BYD while confirming the leader's volume base. BYD's cumulative NEV exports reached 1,301,074 units in the first nine months, up 94.1% year-on-year, a 33.5% share of the segment. Chery held second for the period with 527,490 units (13.6% share), ahead of Geely at 478,804 (12.3%) and Tesla China at 361,972 (9.3%).

Tesla China's September performance marked its second consecutive monthly decline: 30,529 vehicles, up 58.3% year-on-year but down 15.5% month-on-month. Its share fell to 5.4% from 7.0%, putting it only marginally ahead of fifth-placed SAIC Passenger Vehicle at 29,552 units and 5.3%.

The rest of the top ten:

• Changan: 29,325 units, 5.2% share, up 3.5% month-on-month
• Leapmotor: 27,454 units, 4.9% share, up 50.4% month-on-month and 298.6% year-on-year
• SAIC-GM-Wuling: 16,543 units, 3.0% share, down 4.8% month-on-month
• Dongfeng: 10,282 units, 1.8% share, up 106.4% month-on-month
• Xpeng: 10,055 units, 1.8% share, up 23.8% month-on-month

GAC Aion dropped out of the monthly top ten. Leapmotor's 4.9% share, up from 3.5% in August, is the sharpest gain among volume players and reflects the ramp of its export program with Stellantis-linked distribution.

Where does Chery's overall export lead stand?

In the total passenger vehicle export market, which includes internal combustion engine models, Chery remained first in September with 203,765 vehicles, up 46.9% year-on-year and 5.5% month-on-month, for a 22.2% share. BYD ranked second at 174,277 units and a 19.0% share — and the gap between the two widened to 3.2 percentage points from 1.1 points in August.

Chery also led the January-September overall ranking with 1,527,483 vehicles, up 64.5% year-on-year, ahead of BYD at 1,301,074 (18.5%) and Geely at 793,965 (11.3%). Tesla China fell to eighth in the September overall table at 30,529 units and a 3.3% share, behind SAIC-GM-Wuling's 36,433.

What to watch next

Watch the October CPCA release for two signals: whether BYD's month-on-month dip was seasonal or the start of share erosion from Chinese-brand rivals, and whether Tesla China's Shanghai export volumes stabilize ahead of its typical quarter-end allocation pattern. Leapmotor's trajectory toward the 30,000-unit monthly mark would mark another reshuffle in the top five.