China’s heavy-duty truck (HDT) market maintained strong momentum in April 2026, extending the growth trend seen during the traditional “Golden March” sales season and delivering an even stronger year-on-year increase in April, often referred to in the industry as “Silver April.”

According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s total truck market, including chassis and tractor units, reached 344,000 vehicles in April 2026. While overall truck sales declined 22% from March due to seasonal factors, they still rose 7% year-on-year.

The heavy-duty truck segment recorded sales of 117,000 units in April, down 16% month-on-month but up 33% from a year earlier. The year-on-year growth rate accelerated from 25% in March, marking two consecutive months of year-on-year growth during the industry’s peak season.

April 2026 marked the highest April sales level in the past five years. Historically, average April HDT sales over the past decade stood at roughly 109,600 units. Only five April periods exceeded 100,000 units, while volumes surpassed 150,000 units only twice, both before 2022.

With sales of 117,000 units, April 2026 ranked as the fifth-highest April result in the past ten years, roughly in line with 2019 levels.

Sinotruk Retains Leadership as Competition Intensifies

Five manufacturers reported monthly HDT sales above 10,000 units in April, unchanged from March.

Sinotruk remained the market leader with sales of 33,200 units, remaining ahead of its competitors. FAW TRUCKS ranked second with 20,700 units.

Dongfeng, SHACMAN, and Foton followed closely, posting monthly sales of 17,700 units, 17,300 units, and 15,700 units respectively, highlighting increasingly intense competition among China’s leading truck manufacturers.

The top ten manufacturers accounted for 97.3% of the total market in April, while the top five alone accounted for 89.3% of the market

Market shares among the top five manufacturers were as follows:

Sinotruk: 28.4%

FAW TRUCKS: 17.7%

Dongfeng: 15.1%

SHACMAN: 14.8%

Foton: 13.4%

XCMG ranked sixth with sales of 4,500 units and a 3.8% market share.

BAIC Heavy Truck, Geely Farizon, Chery, and JAC completed the top ten rankings, each holding less than 2% market share.

Chery Leads Industry Growth

Nine of the top ten manufacturers posted year-on-year sales growth in April.

Several companies significantly outperformed the overall market growth rate of 33%, including:

FAW TRUCKS: +55%

XCMG: +40%

BAIC Heavy Truck: +74%

Geely Farizon: +62%

Chery: +108%

Chery recorded the fastest growth among major manufacturers, more than doubling its sales from a year earlier.

At the same time, Sinotruk, Dongfeng, SHACMAN, and Foton all maintained double-digit growth.

Foton and XCMG also extended their growth streaks after recording twelve consecutive months of year-on-year gains throughout 2025.

Only one company within the top ten reported declining sales in April, with volumes falling 47% year-on-year.

Industry rankings remained largely stable compared with March. The top six manufacturers — Sinotruk, FAW TRUCKS, Dongfeng, SHACMAN, Foton, and XCMG — all retained their positions, while BAIC Heavy Truck climbed three places to seventh.

January-April Sales Rise 23%

For the first four months of 2026, China’s HDT market totaled 434,800 units, up 23% year-on-year, representing an increase of approximately 82,300 units compared with the same period in 2025.

Sinotruk continued to dominate the market with cumulative sales of 120,200 units and a 27.6% market share.

FAW TRUCKS, Dongfeng, SHACMAN, and Foton followed with cumulative sales of:

FAW TRUCKS: 78,300 units

Dongfeng: 67,000 units

SHACMAN: 66,800 units

Foton: 59,700 units

XCMG ranked sixth with cumulative sales of 15,600 units.

Farizon, Chery, BAIC Heavy Truck, and JAC rounded out the top ten.

Among the leading manufacturers, cumulative growth rates were strongest at:

Chery: +63%

XCMG: +48%

Farizon: +42%

Foton: +37%

Meanwhile, Sinotruk, FAW TRUCKS, Dongfeng, SHACMAN, and BAIC Heavy Truck also maintained solid double-digit growth.

Only one top-ten manufacturer reported a cumulative sales decline during the January-April period, down 31% year-on-year.

Market Concentration Continues to Increase

Market concentration in China’s heavy-duty truck industry continued to increase in 2026.

During the first four months of the year, the top ten manufacturers accounted for 97.5% of total market sales, while the top five controlled 90.1%, slightly higher than the 89.8% recorded for full-year 2025.

The figures indicate that leading manufacturers are continuing to strengthen their positions in the market.

Among major players, Foton posted the largest market share increase, rising 1.4 percentage points year-on-year. XCMG gained 0.6 percentage points, while Farizon and Chery each increased their shares by 0.2 percentage points.

Outlook for the Rest of 2026

Although April volumes were slightly lower than March on a sequential basis, the stronger year-on-year growth rate suggests that market momentum remains resilient.

The strong performance during both the “Golden March” and “Silver April” periods has provided a solid start to 2026 for China’s heavy-duty truck industry.

By the end of April, cumulative market sales were already up 23% year-on-year, with more than 80,000 additional units sold compared with the previous year.

The key question for the industry now is whether this growth momentum can be sustained throughout the remainder of 2026.