China's 2025 EV Sales Total Splits Between 12.8 Million and 16.5 Million Depending on the Tracker

Findings

• China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data shows full-year 2025 NEV sales of 16.49 million units, a 28.2% year-over-year increase -- the highest of any tracker measured.
• China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) retail data puts full-year 2025 passenger NEV retail sales at 12.81 million units (+17.6% YoY), 3.68 million units -- about 22% -- below the CAAM total.
• The same CPCA release reports full-year 2025 passenger NEV wholesale sales at 15.33 million units, a 2.52-million-unit gap versus its own retail figure -- showing that even one association wholesale and retail counts diverge sharply due to channel inventory buildup.
• International trackers split along the same fault line: Rho Motion/Benchmark Mineral Intelligence attributes 12.9 million EV units to China within its 20.7-million global 2025 total, while the IEAs Global EV Outlook 2026 puts Chinas 2025 electric-car production at about 16 million units but domestic demand around 20% lower -- roughly 13.3 million -- with the gap absorbed by a record 2.5 million-plus in exports.
• The four figures cluster into two groups roughly 3 million units apart: a ~16 million-unit group (CAAM sales, IEA production) and a ~12.8-13.3 million-unit group (CPCA retail, Rho Motion, IEA implied domestic demand) -- the split tracks production/wholesale-adjacent counts versus retail/end-market counts, not a simple reporting error.