D1EV reported that China’s passenger car export leaders varied by region in January-September 2026, with Chery ranking first in Europe at 426,022 units, Geely leading Southeast Asia at 147,274, SAIC-GM-Wuling topping North America at 100,658, BYD heading Central and South America at 293,512, and Chery also placing first in the Middle East at 115,786.
The rankings, based on the Gasgoo Auto Research Institute export database, showed Europe as the largest market among the regional leaders listed. In Europe, BYD ranked second at 336,163 units and SAIC Passenger Vehicle ranked third at 329,843, followed by Geely at 159,148 and Tesla at 112,725. Leapmotor was sixth with 99,004 units and the fastest growth in the Europe top 10 at 324.1%, while Spotlight Automotive was the only company in that top 10 to post a decline, down 0.3% at 37,403 units.
Southeast Asia and North America
In Southeast Asia, BYD ranked second at 110,697 units and Chery ranked third at 64,795. Zhenyi Auto, part of Chery Holding, was fourth at 59,188 units, though no year-on-year figure was disclosed. Changan ranked fifth at 24,582 units and was the only company with a disclosed decline in the regional top 10, down 5.6%. Tesla exported 21,522 units, Great Wall Motor 20,122, SAIC-GM-Wuling 18,569, Leapmotor 18,301, and SAIC Passenger Vehicle 18,280.
Leapmotor posted the fastest growth rate in Southeast Asia at 213.3%, while SAIC-GM-Wuling grew 103.2%, Tesla 67.2%, Great Wall Motor 33.6%, and SAIC Passenger Vehicle 57.8%. BYD and Chery posted modest gains of 1.5% and 1.3%.
In North America, SAIC-GM ranked second at 37,517 units, Changan Ford third at 33,205, Geely fourth at 29,629, and SAIC Passenger Vehicle fifth at 26,864. Chery exported 23,193 units, Jiangsu Yueda Kia 20,769, Tesla 15,065, BYD 13,195, and JMC 13,006.
Tesla had the fastest growth in North America at 130.4%. SAIC-GM rose 81.1%, Geely 37.3%, Changan Ford 28.0%, SAIC-GM-Wuling 20.3%, SAIC Passenger Vehicle 18.7%, and JMC 25.2%, while Chery fell 8.3%, Jiangsu Yueda Kia fell 6.6%, and BYD fell 83.2%. SAIC Group brands including SAIC-GM-Wuling, SAIC-GM and SAIC Passenger Vehicle exported a combined 165,039 units to North America.
Central and South America and the Middle East
In Central and South America, Chery ranked second at 188,157 units, Geely third at 102,594, Great Wall Motor fourth at 96,250, Changan fifth at 56,606, Jiangsu Yueda Kia sixth at 52,303, SAIC-GM-Wuling seventh at 42,338, JMC eighth at 34,126, SAIC Passenger Vehicle ninth at 32,389, and Tesla tenth at 25,099.
All top 10 companies in Central and South America recorded growth. Tesla posted the highest increase at 1,935.6%, followed by Geely at 450.3%, Changan at 260.8%, SAIC-GM-Wuling at 152.4%, BYD at 151.3%, SAIC Passenger Vehicle at 111.2%, Great Wall Motor at 96.9%, Chery at 95.7%, Jiangsu Yueda Kia at 44.2%, and JMC at 20.7%.
In the Middle East, BYD ranked second at 91,383 units. Geely, SAIC Passenger Vehicle and Great Wall Motor were close behind at 47,131, 47,106 and 46,091 units, followed by Changan at 38,716, Jiangsu Yueda Kia at 36,571, Soueast at 28,969, Beijing Hyundai at 25,125, and Karry at 24,601.
The Middle East rankings also showed Chery Holding with three brands in the top 10. Chery, Soueast and Karry exported a combined 169,356 units there. Among the listed companies, Karry grew 30.2%, Great Wall Motor 15.9%, BYD 11.4%, Chery 4.5%, and Changan 2.1%, while Geely fell 13.5%, Beijing Hyundai fell 20.5%, Soueast fell 25.5%, SAIC Passenger Vehicle fell 35.0%, and Jiangsu Yueda Kia fell 42.4%.
