2025 has passed, and we have entered a new year. Many things have happened in the domestic car market during this year.

In 2025, the production and sales of automobiles will steadily increase, and the monthly penetration rate of new energy will exceed 50% for two consecutive months, maintaining a rapid development momentum; This year, the export volume of automobiles reached a new high and continued to maintain high-speed growth; This year, the government took action to control the disorderly price war, and the "internal competition" in the industry was alleviated

What changes will occur in the Chinese car market in the upcoming year 2026?

The sales growth rate that used to be easily double-digit should be difficult to reproduce in 2026. Several industry experts predict that the car market will enter a "high sales, low growth" mode, where sales remain high but growth rates will slow down. If export volume is not considered, the annual growth rate may be stuck at 2% -3%, and there is even a probability of zero growth.

The core reason is that the "tax-free last bus" at the end of 2025 has overdrawn some demand, coupled with intensified competition in the existing market and weakened effects of the trade in policy, resulting in significant pressure on domestic demand growth.

But this is not a recession, but an advancement of the car market from "quantity" to "quality". The annual sales volume of around 35 million vehicles this year proves that China is still the world's largest car market.

The change of the purchase tax for new energy vehicles from "full exemption" to "halved collection" is the most anticipated policy adjustment in 2026. Calculated at around 200000 yuan for mainstream car models, the cost of purchasing a car will increase by about 8800 yuan, which makes price sensitive consumers hesitate.

However, there is no need to worry excessively. The policy is optimized rather than withdrawn, and coupled with the rapid implementation of the trade in policy at the beginning of the year, it offset some of the impact of rising costs.

Car companies have also been prepared for this and have launched intensive purchase tax subsidy policies to stabilize consumers. Overall car prices will not experience significant fluctuations, but rather a rational release after a wait-and-see period.

Once upon a time, hidden door handles were the "high-end standard" for new energy vehicles, but now they are slowly fading out of the stage. It's not that the technology is not good, but that car design will return to its practical essence.

North car owners roast that it would not open in winter because of the ice, and the maintenance cost was higher than that of traditional door handles. In addition, the requirements of the new national standard for practicality and reliability were improved, so the car enterprises began to turn to the design of pop-up but more durable, or directly returned to the traditional door handles.

With such lessons learned from the past, the flashy configurations of new cars launched in 2026 will be reduced, and car companies will begin to focus on developing worry free designs

The new national standard clearly requires that the electricity consumption of new energy vehicles cannot exceed 15kWh/100km (slightly different models), which is a hard constraint for car companies.

This means that previous models with falsely labeled range and high power consumption will be eliminated, and car companies must put more effort into battery technology, lightweight body, and energy recovery.

For consumers, the most intuitive benefit is that the new energy vehicle they purchase has a more realistic range, longer mileage when fully charged, and lower operating costs. After all, it consumes 1 kWh less per 100 kilometers and can also save a lot of electricity bills over the course of a year.

2026 is the year when intelligent driving will transition from high-end experimentation to widespread adoption among the general public. L3 level conditional autonomous driving will be commercialized on a large scale, and high-speed roads can basically achieve "let go driving". Some urban roads can also support automatic following and obstacle avoidance.

More importantly, intelligent driving is no longer exclusive to luxury cars, and economy sedans priced at 100000 yuan will also be equipped with high-speed NOAs. Car companies such as BYD and Leapmotor are promoting "intelligent driving equality".

The focus of competition will also change, no longer compared to "whether there is", but to "whether it is good or not", such as whether automatic lane changing is smooth enough and whether it is intelligent enough to respond to emergencies.

The disorderly price war in 2025 will be further curbed in 2026. Car companies finally understand that relying solely on price reductions to grab the market is unsustainable, and "high-quality competition" is the way out.

The previous optional features have now become standard, such as laser radar, 800V high-voltage platform, and intelligent cockpit, with more and more high-end configurations being deployed to mainstream models. With the acceleration of technological updates and iterations, the time for model upgrades is also shortening, almost catching up with consumer electronics.

For consumers, this is a tangible benefit. Spending the same amount of money can buy a car with more complete configurations and advanced technology; For car companies, only through technological innovation and efficiency improvement can they survive in stock competition.

The domestic market growth has slowed down, and overseas has become a "new battlefield" for car companies. By 2026, China's automobile exports are expected to exceed 10 million units, with a year-on-year growth rate of 25%, among which the proportion of new energy vehicles will continue to increase.

But going global is no longer as simple as selling cars abroad. Leading car companies such as BYD and Chery have established factories in Thailand, Brazil, and Hungary to achieve local research and development, local production, and local sales.

This can not only avoid trade barriers, but also better adapt to local market demands, such as optimizing chassis for Southeast Asian road conditions and improving safety configurations for European standards. Overseas markets are no longer supplements, but the core driving force behind the growth of car companies' sales.

The automotive market in 2026 is a "knockout race" for car companies that tests their overall strength; For consumers, it is an opportunity to buy better cars with less money. The essence of the car market ultimately returns to the core of "making good cars and selling good cars", which may be the healthiest state.