China Passenger Car Inventory Fell to 3.48 Million Units at End of May 2026, Industry Group Says

China’s passenger car industry inventory totaled 3.48 million units at the end of May 2026, down 60,000 units from the previous month and up 30,000 units from May 2025, according to an industry association official. According to Jin10, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) branch, said the data indicated a trend of inventories flattening. He said manufacturer inventory accounted for 30.3% of the total, which he described as relatively high. Cui said the industry’s optimism index for May 2026 was 27%, while early June’s satisfaction reading for the end of May was 26%. He said expectations were low and satisfaction was even weaker, citing the impact of high oil prices. He added that his team lowered its optimism reading for the June market to 31%, which he described as a historically low forecast indicator in recent assessments. Cui said total inventory at companies that only produce new energy vehicles rose to 790,000 units in May 2026, up 40,000 units from the prior month. He said this was 10,000 units above the peak inventory level in November 2025, but 80,000 units below the 870,000 units recorded in May 2025. He said recent manufacturer and channel inventories at new energy vehicle dealers faced pressure because retail sales were below expectations, leaving overall industry inventory pressure relatively high.