The February new energy vehicle sales figures have been released, and the word that sums it up is: cold.

According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, in February this year, the retail sales of new energy vehicles reached 464,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 32.0%, with a penetration rate of 44.9%. In the same month, the average price drop for new energy vehicles was 48,000 yuan, higher than that of fuel-powered cars, yet sales growth remained sluggish.

Specifically, in terms of models, only three new energy vehicles achieved monthly sales exceeding 20,000 units in February this year, while only eight models surpassed 10,000 units. The decline in micro electric vehicles was even more pronounced. Of course, there were also dark horses that later surged ahead.

However, under the declining policy dividends, the new energy sector indeed urgently needs to pick up its pace.

Only 8 models sold over 10,000 units monthly, making Li Auto the new "black king."

In February, the Geely Starry Night became the best-selling new energy vehicle with 27,000 units sold, securing its position as the top-selling model among all categories.

Following closely behind is the Tesla Model Y, with monthly sales exceeding 25,000 units, making it one of the few new energy vehicle models to show month-on-month growth.

The Xiaomi YU7 ranks third, although it still has sales of 20000 units, it has halved compared to the nearly 38000 units sold in January. Among all new energy vehicle models, only the above three models sold over 20000 units in February.

Surprisingly, the performance of the Ideal i6 was impressive, with sales of 16000 units in February and exceeding 15000 units in a single month for three consecutive months, giving it a sense of becoming a new "black resistant king".

Tesla Model 3, Equation Leopard Titanium 7, NIO ES8, and WENJIE M7 also sold over 10000 units in February. In other words, only 8 new energy vehicles sold over 10000 units in February this year.

It is worth noting that among these 8 models with sales exceeding 10000 yuan, except for Geely Xingyuan, there are no models with a starting price below 200000 yuan, all of which are mid to high end models. It wasn't until the ninth place on the sales chart that the BYD Song Pro DM-i, a 100000 yuan model, appeared.

Micro electric cars have significantly declined

Mainstream car models are struggling to make it into the top ten of sales charts, and the situation of micro electric cars is even more difficult.

In February, the sales of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV were only about 4800 units, showing a significant decline. You should know that in December last year, the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV had sales of over 29000 units.

The Wuling Hongguang MINIEV is still like this, and the sales of other micro electric cars are even less satisfactory, generally only around 1000 units.

In 2026, the purchase tax for new energy vehicles will be reduced from full exemption to half collection, which means that buying new energy vehicles will cost more money.

For consumers willing to spend 200000 or even 300000 yuan on new energy vehicles, paying an additional 10000 yuan in purchase tax is enough to grit their teeth and pass. However, for the target users of micro electric vehicles, paying the additional purchase tax is already enough to charge them for several years.

Under the decline of new energy subsidies, micro electric vehicles may be the biggest victims. The micro electric cars that were originally "cheap and large in quantity" suddenly lost their popularity, which forced related car companies to truly shift from "making cheap cars" to "making good cars".

finally

The policy dividend is receding, and the days of nude swimming are getting closer and closer. The country's vigorous development of new energy is definitely not about new energy vehicles relying solely on policy dividends to make a living. One day, they will compete fairly with gasoline vehicles.

Since there are advantages in electrification and intelligence, new energy vehicles may as well spend more resources to enhance product competitiveness and prove themselves to be the future of automotive consumption with their expected market performance.