In March 2026, the overall sales volume of the internal combustion engine industry rebounded significantly month on month and increased year-on-year. The sales volume in the first quarter remained basically the same as the same period last year with a slight increase.

After the Spring Festival, the production and operation activities of enterprises resumed normal, terminal demand was released, and market activity increased. At the same time, policy changes and adjustments, as well as intensified energy challenges caused by geopolitical conflicts, had a combined impact. As a result, market sales rebounded significantly month on month, with a slight increase compared to the same period last year. Specifically, in March, the sales of internal combustion engines reached 5.0048 million units, an increase of 69.83% month on month and 3.45% year-on-year; The sales volume in the first quarter was 12.6967 million units, a year-on-year increase of 1.56%.

In terms of terminals, the passenger car market has released positive signals, the motorcycle market has shown significant growth momentum, the commercial vehicle market continues to improve, and the power generation and landscaping markets are facing challenges; The sales of agricultural machinery, engineering and other markets are slowly recovering.

Overall Sales Overview：

threeIn the month, the sales volume of internal combustion engines was 5.0048 million units, an increase of 69.83% month on month and 3.45% year-on-year; The power output reached 299.2005 million kilowatts, a month on month increase of 85.68% and a year-on-year increase of 8.96%.

1-3Monthly cumulative sales of 12.6967 million units, a year-on-year increase of 1.56%; The cumulative power has reached 714.6628 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 0.69%.

Classification of fuel types：

threeIn terms of fuel categories, both diesel engines and gasoline engines saw a significant increase compared to the previous month. Diesel engines saw year-on-year and cumulative year-on-year growth, while gasoline engines showed slightly better year-on-year and cumulative year-on-year growth compared to the same period last year. Specifically, compared to the previous month, diesel engines increased by 61.73% and gasoline engines increased by 71.17%; Compared with the same period last year, diesel engines increased by 11.54% year-on-year, and gasoline engines increased by 2.50% year-on-year; Compared with the same period last year, diesel engines increased by 9.37% year-on-year, and gasoline engines increased by 0.63% year-on-year.

threeIn the month, diesel internal combustion engines sold 607100 units (including 19000 units for passenger cars, 229400 units for commercial vehicles, 94200 units for construction machinery, 213200 units for agricultural machinery, 5100 units for ships, 44300 units for power generation, 900 units for landscaping, and 1100 units for general use), and gasoline engines sold 4.3919 million units.

1-3The monthly sales of diesel engines were 1.4972 million units (including 44900 units for passenger cars, 580300 units for commercial vehicles, 241100 units for construction machinery, 488300 units for agricultural machinery, 15800 units for ships, 122400 units for power generation, 1700 units for landscaping, and 2800 units for general use), and 11.1841 million units for gasoline internal combustion engines.

Market usage situation:

threeIn the comparable caliber of the segmented market, all segmented uses have increased month on month. Specifically, passenger car usage increased by 100.62%, commercial vehicle usage increased by 47.79%, construction machinery usage increased by 62.27%, agricultural machinery usage increased by 82.86%, marine usage increased by 32.14%, generator usage increased by 100.96%, garden machinery usage increased by 47.82%, motorcycle usage increased by 46.59%, and general machinery usage increased by 37.06%.

Compared with the same period last year, the use of construction machinery, ships, power generation, and landscaping decreased year-on-year, while other uses increased year-on-year. Specifically, passenger car usage increased by 8.95%, commercial vehicle usage increased by 12.63%, construction machinery usage increased by -130%, agricultural machinery usage increased by 0.59%, marine usage increased by -10.29%, generator usage increased by -12.20%, garden machinery usage increased by -41.47%, motorcycle usage increased by 3.95%, and general machinery usage increased by 69.26%.

Compared with the previous year, the use of passenger cars, agricultural machinery, power generation, and landscaping decreased year-on-year, while other uses increased year-on-year. Specifically, passenger car usage increased by 3.32%, commercial vehicle usage increased by 11.63%, construction machinery usage increased by 0.54%, agricultural machinery usage increased by 6.03%, marine usage increased by 16.87%, generator set usage increased by -10.94%, garden machinery usage increased by -30.23%, motorcycle usage increased by 12.03%, and general machinery usage increased by 39.42%.

threeIn the month, the sales volume of passenger cars was 1.9189 million units, commercial vehicles were 297100 units, construction machinery was 99800 units, agricultural machinery was 539800 units, ships were 5100 units, generator sets were 184500 units, garden machinery was 108900 units, motorcycles were 1.8312 million units, and general machinery was 19500 units.

1-3In the month, the cumulative sales of passenger cars were 4.4254 million units, commercial vehicles were 75.09 million units, construction machinery were 254100 units, agricultural machinery were 1.3932 million units, ships were 15800 units, generator sets were 429100 units, garden machinery were 341600 units, motorcycles were 5.0349 million units, and general machinery were 51700 units.

Main varieties classified by single and multi cylinder usage:

Single cylinder diesel engine

threeThe monthly sales of single cylinder diesel engines in the market have increased month on month, year-on-year, and cumulative year-on-year. In March, the sales volume of single cylinder diesel engines was 113200 units, a month on month increase of 95.24% and a year-on-year increase of 12.56%. The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 259900 units, a year-on-year increase of 6.35%.

Among them, the sales volume of single cylinder diesel engines mainly used in the field of agricultural machinery in March was 104600 units, an increase of 91.97% month on month and 16.84% year-on-year. The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 240000 units, a year-on-year increase of 10.68%.

Multi cylinder diesel engine

The commercial vehicle market continues to improve, with both month on month and year-on-year growth in production and sales in March, and cumulative sales increasing year-on-year. The sales of multi cylinder diesel engines, which account for a large proportion of commercial vehicles, have fluctuated and converged.

threeIn the month, multi cylinder diesel engine companies sold a total of 493900 units, a month on month increase of 55.61% and a year-on-year increase of 11.31%; The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 1.2372 million units, a year-on-year increase of 10.02%. Weichai, Yuchai, Quanchai, Yunnei, Xinchai, Yituo, Dongkang, Jiefang Power, New Power Technology, and Jiangling ranked among the top ten in sales, accounting for 79.02% of the total sales of multi cylinder diesel engines; Market share: Weichai 20.80%, Yuchai 14.10%, Quanchai 8.50%, Yunnei 7.62%, Xinchai 5.55%, Yituo 5.32%, Dongkang 5.21%, Jiefang Power 4.15%, New Power Technology 4.04%, Jiangling 3.74%.

threeIn the month, sales of multi cylinder diesel engines for commercial vehicles reached 229400 units, a month on month increase of 46.02% and a year-on-year increase of 9.82%; The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 580300 units, a year-on-year increase of 10.64%. The top ten sellers are Weichai, Yuchai, Yunnei, Jiangling, Fukang, Jiefang Power, Jianghuai, Oukang Power, Quanchai, and Dongkang, accounting for 89.16% of the total sales; Weichai holds a leading market share of 26.19%, Yuchai 13.16%, Yunnei 8.78%, Jiangling 7.97%, Fukang 6.48%, Jiefang Power 6.12%, Jianghuai 5.60%, Oukang Power 5.32%, Quanchai 5.28%, and Dongkang 4.26% in the commercial vehicle multi cylinder diesel engine market.

threeIn the month, the sales volume of multi cylinder diesel engines for construction machinery was 93200 units, a month on month increase of 58.92% and a year-on-year increase of -1.38%; The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 238800 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.00%. The top ten sellers are Xinchai, Quanchai, Weichai, Yuchai, Dongkang, Yunnei, New Power Technology, Guangkang, Jiefang Power, and Yituo, accounting for 97.80% of their total sales.

Multi cylinder gasoline engine

The passenger car market saw a month on month increase in production and sales in March, but a year-on-year decrease, with cumulative sales decreasing year-on-year. As a result, the sales of multi cylinder gasoline engines in the main supporting passenger car market also showed a similar trend.

threeMonthly sales of multi cylinder gasoline engines reached 1.9643 million units, a month on month increase of 98.81% and a year-on-year increase of 9.54%; The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 4.5429 million units, a year-on-year increase of -2.80%. Among 46 multi cylinder gasoline engine companies, Chery, Geely, BYD, FAW Volkswagen, Changan Automobile, Honeycomb Power, Guangfeng Engine, Shangtong Wuling, SAIC Zhengzhou, and Beijing Benz rank among the top in terms of sales, accounting for 65.04% of the total sales. Among the companies with high sales volume, Chery, Geely, and Dongfeng Honda have shown outstanding growth in sales.

The proportion of passenger cars used in multi cylinder gasoline engines was 96.43%, with sales of 1.8999 million units in March, a month on month increase of 100.25% and a year-on-year increase of 8.95%; The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 4.3805 million units, a year-on-year increase of -3.41%. Chery, Geely, BYD, FAW Volkswagen, Changan Automobile, Honeycomb Power, Guangfeng Engine, Shangtong Wuling, SAIC Zhengzhou, and Beijing Benz rank among the top sellers in terms of sales.

Small gasoline engine

The industry is mainly focused on exports and is greatly influenced by the external environment. In comparable caliber, sales of small gasoline engines increased month on month in March, decreased year-on-year, and accumulated year-on-year decline. In March, the sales of small gasoline engines reached 806400 units, a month on month increase of 75.86% and a year-on-year increase of -18.94%; The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 2.1415 million units, a year-on-year increase of -17.55%.

In the supporting agricultural machinery, the sales volume in March was 326700 units, a month on month increase of 80.96% and a year-on-year increase of -9.88%. The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 904900 units, a year-on-year increase of -14.15%.

In the field of supporting garden machinery, the sales volume in March was 108000 units, a month on month increase of 46.70% and a year-on-year increase of -41.61%. The cumulative sales volume from January to March was 339900 units, a year-on-year increase of -30.19%.

Note:

oneThe summary is based on the association's published manuscript, and this article is for reference only

twoThere are many single cylinder diesel engine and small gasoline engine companies, but this article only includes 10 single cylinder diesel engine companies and 9 small gasoline engine companies.

Source: Data from the China Association of Trade Unions