SAIC Motor leads Q1 with 973,000 vehicles sold, up 3% YoY
China's SAIC Motor reported 973,000 wholesale sales in Q1 2026, a 3% year-on-year increase, making it the only automaker in China to surpass one million retail sales in the quarter.
973,000 units
3%
1,008,000 units
What Happened
SAIC Motor released its Q1 2026 sales data, reporting 376,000 vehicles sold in March and achieving its third consecutive monthly sales title. Cumulative wholesale sales reached 973,000 units, up 3% year-on-year, while retail sales totaled 1,008,000 units, making SAIC the only automaker in China to surpass one million retail sales in the first quarter.
Self-owned brands posted impressive growth, with sales of SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicles surging 40.4% YoY and IM Motors' sales soaring 96.9% YoY. Joint venture brands showed steady recovery, with SAIC-GM's sales increasing 11.3% YoY. Overseas sales reached 325,000 units, up 48.3% YoY, with MG selling over 90,000 units in Europe, up 20%.
270,000units
SAIC Motor maintained its leading position in new energy vehicles, with IM LS8 orders exceeding 10,000 within 45 minutes of pre-sales.
- SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle: 230,000 units sold, up 40.4% YoY
- IM Motors: sales jumped 96.9% YoY
- SAIC Maxus: 59,000 units, up 14.3% YoY
- SAIC-GM-Wuling: 328,000 units, steady performance
- SAIC-GM: 16,000 NEVs, up 221.3% YoY
Why this matters
SAIC Motor's strong Q1 performance, driven by self-owned brands and new energy vehicles, reinforces its leadership in China's auto industry amid steady market recovery.
Terms in This Story
- NEV
- New Energy Vehicle, a category that includes battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and fuel-cell vehicles.
- YoY
- Year-on-year, a comparison of a statistic for one period to the same period the previous year.
- Wholesale sales
- Sales from the automaker to dealers, excluding retail sales to end customers.
- Retail sales
- Sales to end customers, often reported by automakers alongside wholesale figures.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.