Why it matters: The decline was especially marked for BYD, which accounted for nearly a third of the country’s green energy vehicle sales last year. The biggest Chinese EV maker maintained its leading position with sales of more than 201,000 units last month, although that number represented a 41% decrease compared to December. Meanwhile, international carmakers such as Volkswagen and General Motors posted decent sales with local partner SAIC, showcasing their efforts to play catch-up. This growth was partly due to strong sales of its Galaxy and Lynk & Co brands, which sold 19,223 and 28,176 units over the month, respectively. Sales of Aion , which has sold a large proportion of its vehicles to ride-hailing fleets, also dropped 46% month-on-month to 24,947 units in January.