Lotus Technology Deliveries : 2025/26 (H1)

Lotus reported that it's half year sales result was up 39%. Going on their unaudited 2025 figure as as seen to the right, it's +35%. 

According to the company, growth was driven by the launch of the Eletre X, a new PHEV model. The sports car division meanwhile maintained a stable volume. 

Data source: Lotus Technology.

Photos: Lotus. (Eletre, Emira & Eletre X).

Regionally, China experienced strong growth in total deliveries with an increase of 60% YOY, outpacing the premium passenger automotive segment amid an increasingly competitive landscape. 

Lifestyle vehicle deliveries (Cars/SUV) increased to 77% of the total sales. It was 70% in 2025. Sports cars are, as mentioned already, holding up well, but not growing to the same degree. 

Eletre X, a new PHEV model. It helped Lotus enter the range extended PHEV segment. Eletre X has been delivered in China and six other markets. Deliveries in mainland Europe are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by the UK in mid 2027. 

GAC Aoin/Hyptec Deliveries 2020-2025

Aion is an electric car maker which is a subsidiary of GAC. The first cars arrived in 2018, the S model. In 2019, 32,100 S cars were sold and 1,300 of the LX model were sold. 

The chart here starts a year later with 59,500 units delivered. The next three years, excellent growth was achieved and in 2023, the 480,000 sales made Aion the third largest EV brand in the world, behind only Tesla and BYD. 

The Hyptec EV marque started in 2022 and comes under Aion. Aion targets the mainstream EV segment while Hyptec aims toward more premium and performance vehicles.  

As things deteriorated in China, so did the sales. In the two years from 2023, the drop in volume was 40%. In 2025, exports were prioritised.

With the turn toward exports, how has Aion/Hyptec been going in 2026? We will cover that in a future article coming soon. 

Data source: GAC.

Photo source: GAC.
(Aion UT & Hyptec GT). 

Suzuki Sales : 2024-26 (H1)

Most legacy brands are finding life difficult as hordes of Chinese brands join the fray. Is Suzuki coping well or feeling the pinch like so many others? 

Sales are up 10% in the first half of the year to 1.8 million units. In 2021, they were up 13% / 2020 +7% / 2023 +4% / 2024 +6% / 2025 +1%. The +10% figure for 2026 is a surprisingly positive upturn after a few years of declining increases. 

The secret is having two large markets that are thus far unaffected by a Chinese influx. They are India, which accounts for 58% of total sales, and Japan, 21%. That's nearly 4 out of 5 sales in two countries. Is that a good thing or a risky position ot be in?

One could reason that such a reliance on just two markets could leave Suzuki exposed, but if so, then it won't be happening soon. The Indian car buyer strongly supports Suzuki and in Japan, the unique Kei car segment is unlikely to be seriously challenged and where Suzuki sells most of its cars. 

That said, BYD and Chery are introducing EV Kei cars to Japan but unless the EV take up increases greatly, it will have little impact. Currently, EV Kei cars make up just over 1% of total sales with growth potential. 

Data & photo source: Suzuki. (Fronx & Ignis).

GAC Trumpchi/Motor Deliveries 2020-2025

GAC's Trumpchi as a brand name is only used in China. It's GAC Motor for export markets. The vast majority of deliveries are for the domestic market, and had put most of its eggs in that basket. 

At the beginning of 2026, the GAC Group spun off Trumpchi to speed up decision-making. The reason is to save the brand due to intense competition at home. The goal is also to go more upmarket. 

Chinese sales were growing nicely each year and the Trumpchi brand rode the crest of that wave. 2025 was a strong year too but ruthless discounting and cut backs on subsidies hurt many brands, including this one. 

Looking back historically, the first year of car sales was 2011, with 15,700 units sold. It escalated from there to 34,200, 85,600, 105,500 and 190,000 by 2015. 

2016 witnessed a doubling of volume to 370,900, then 508,600, 565,900 before falling back to 349,100 in 2019. The chart covers the following years. 

It was all good until 2025, when a 23% drop was experienced. This led to the spin off mentioned earlier. The year 2026 will be covered here in the near future to see how things are progressing. 

Data source: GAC Group. 
Photo source: Netcarshow (above). 

Philippines Car/LCV Sales: 2026 (Jan-July)

The data from here is variable, to put it politely. It depends on importers reporting and that is inconsistent. So while registrations are down, too much volume isn't available to make a call on that but I came up with -9% YTD anyway. 

The 2025 share shown below is for the complete year. Toyota is the dominant brand with 46% of the market. Most of the top brands are legacy ones and they are suffering. Chinese brands are pressing for more share and something has to give. 

BYD reported registrations in 2025 but not so far this year so its total is an estimate. GAC is now reporting and GWM for 2026, the latter didn't in 2025. Many smaller imported brands have never been included but their numbers will be tiny. 

Data: Campi. Photos: Toyota (Wigo & Innova).

Albania Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-July)

Sometimes things just don't add up, yet it's true. The Albanian car market in 2026 is unprecedented in an extreme way but more on that in a moment. Most new cars sold here are not through Albanian dealers but imported through non-official channels rather than traditional local dealership networks.

Hyundai was the leading brand for 2020 and 2021, then VW took over for three years. BYD's first full year in Albania was in 2024, managing 5th place with 7% market share. 

In 2025, it rocketed to first place with 34% share and so far this year has nearly 50% of the registrations.  

It's hard to understand how that can happen in what is, by my understanding, an open market. Chinese penetration is now overwhelming and growing. Legacy car brands are for the most part getting battered. A few are doing well. 

Total sales are up 48% YTD but only 7% in July. It will be interesting to see if that was a blip or a sign that things are settling down. As the +/- column is about market share, a decrease in most cases will not mean a drop in sales. 

Data source: Dpshtrr. Photos: BYD. 

Bosnia-Herzegovina Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-July)

Registrations were up 2% YTD to 6,937. Škoda took nearly 1 in 4 of them. Toyota kept up the pace with the leader but it is miles behind. 

Renault has had a year to forget but Opel has found a new lease of life. Legacy brands still hold sway.

A large number of cars arriving in the country are used. I'm not sure how many new cars are private imports, if any. 

Data source: Proauto. Photo source: Opel Mokka & Kia Stonic

Serbia Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-July)

Registrations were up 34% in July and up 21% YTD to 23,645. Škoda secured a fifth of those, which is impressive. Toyota is only one in the top six to increase its share. BYD and Chery has pushed up into the top ten. Chinese brands are making their presence felt. 

Data source: Serbian Association of Vehicle and Parts Importers and Cube Team.

Photo source: Chery & Toyota Srbija.

Indonesia Vehicle Sales : 2026 (Jan-July)

Registrations in Indonesia were down 3% in July and up 12% YTD. Toyota and subsidiary Daihatsu are not far off commanding half of the market. Chinese brands have arrived in a feeding frenzy but seem to be only partially having an impact on the better selling Japanese brands. At present, they seem to be canabalising sales off each other. 

Part of that stems from the fact that import duty enables those with large assembly plants to dominate proceedings. As the market grows, more assembly plants will open and spread the sales more evenly. 

It never ceases to amaze me how in Asia, car pictures on company websites are so bland or downright cheesy. Do people actually like them? We have here the Toyota Innova (above) and Daihatsu Sirion (below). 

Data source: Gaikindo. 

Hyundai Euro Model Sales: 2025-26 (Jan-July)

Sales in Europe show as being down by 45%, but that's against a full 2025. YOY, they were down 9.6%. The departure of the i10 in 2026 had quite an impact. 

The Tucson contributes a third of all sales, which is impressive but somewhat reliant on one model, which the loss of the i10 accentuated.

The factory in Turkey that made the i10 will be replaced by the Ionic 3 EV. I doubt it will reach the same volume but should do well in a region that is pushing EV ownership. 

Light commercial vehicles are well down and numerically rather insignificant. 

Data source: Hyundai.
Picture source: Hyundai UK (Tucson & Kona)

Hyundai Plant Deliveries : 2024-26 (H1)

Hyundai plant sales have been around just over a million units a quarter. The numbers were down 3% in 2024, down 1% in 2025 and so half way through 2026 down 5%. 

Those numbers are fairly even, but the trend is clear. The key point is why? I suspect that Hyundai wants to go more upmarket. Not hugely, but enough to improve margins and position it slightly above Kia.

The fact is that the next few years are going to be a challenge as Chinese brands up the ante. The 7% fall in Q2 2026 was the largest fall since Q1 2022, when the economy was still getting itself sorted after COVID.

Data source: Hyundai.
Above the Sonata and below the Tucson (with not very subtle stalker tendencies).

Chile Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-July)

Registrations weredown 7% in July but up 7% YTD. Suzuki's 10.5% market share is the best since 2008. It was also enough to secure the top spot. Hyundai and Kia are similar in terms of volume. Toyota is next, just 33 behind Kia, so it is really tight among those three. 

Chinese brands are popular and are still pushing hard but can they go all the way and take the top places? There is some work to do if that is the ambition.

Data source: ANAC. Photos Suzuki Fronx & Kia Soluto. 

NZ Passenger Car EV Sales : 2025-26 (Jan-July)

                                                               

With petrol prices as they are, some car buyers suddenly decide to switch to an EVs. Prices will fall again, so a short term fossil fuel hike gets consumers in a tizz. 

My first feeling was that if they did the maths, surely there isn't justification to do so costwise. But as the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz persist, maybe there will ultimately prove to be merit in the shift. 

Passenger car EV registrations in New Zealand are up 56%, even when comparing seven months of 2026 with a complete 2025 as we see to the right. EV market share has lifted from 7.0% in 2025 to 17.8% so far in 2026. 

The +/- column shows shift in market share, not sales volume. Tesla leads the way with 2,517 sales and BYD 2,082. Neither has gained much in their share, more a case of retaining what they have.

MG/IM and Dongfeng have increased their registrations and market share. Kia is doing okay but is losing out on capitalising fully on the increase taking place. 

It's interesting to note that legacy brands have almost all taken substantial hits. Chinese brands are certainly making their mark.

With effect stock levels have affected sales I can't say but it doesn't diminish the reality that Chinese brands and companies that source their EVs from there are doing very well. 

Data Source: NZTA. 
Photos: Dongfeng (007) & MG (4).

Taiwan Vehicle Sales: 2026 (Jan-July)

I don't publish much on Taiwan as the data is basically accurate, but I can't be sure it's 100%. Still, it gives an insight into the market. The others are presumably heavy commercial vehicles. 

Taiwan has a vehicle manufacturing industry that is tariff protected. Toyota is the dominant force here, with just over 30% of the total. Throw in Lexus, and it's not too far off 40%. CMC is a local brand, specialising in light commercials. Foxtron is a new local electric car maker. 

MG is present, assembled locally from imported kits by CMC, but has to meet local content requirements. One thing of note is the absence of Chinese brands from across the water, MG an exception. Cybersecurity risks and other factors mean they are not allowed to be imported, with recent tighter restrictions ensuring loopholes aren't exploited. MG is probably lucky to be there. 

Photos: Foxtron (Bria) & CMC (Veryca).

Aston Martin Global Deliveries : 2025-26 (H1)

Deliveries were down 1% in Q1 and then dramatically up 43% in Q2. That's an exceptional result in the present climate. Last year, wholesale deliveries fell 10%, but things are turning around in 2026. 

I believe reducing inventory was the reason for last year's reduction, with production now more in line with orders received. The 2026 increase is across the board. 

With H1 deliveries up 21%, gross profit is up 68%. With the industry facing so many negative issues, no mean feat. 

Data source: Aston Martin.

Photos: DB12, Vantage, DBX & Valhalla.

Regions: The Americas is where most cars are delivered. 36% of the total went there in H1, for a 29% increase. Europe, Middle East and Africa combine to account for 30%. The UK registered 18%, which historically quite a low figure. The Asia and Pacific region now make up just 16%, probably due to China. 

Models: The GT and sports car range make up 67% of the total. The DBX SUV 23% and Specials 10%. All but one or two of those latter deliveries are for the Valhalla. Current orders for this car stretch to the end of Q4 2026.