The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released the retail sales data for passenger cars in January, showing that a total of 2.04 million passenger cars were sold from January 1st to 31st, a year-on-year increase of 58% and a month-on-month decrease of 13%. The wholesale volume of passenger cars from manufacturers across the country was 2.08 million, a year-on-year increase of 44% and a month-on-month decrease of 23%. The preliminary statistics also indicate that the retail sales of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market from January 1st to 31st reached 670,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 102% and a month-on-month decrease of 29%. The wholesale volume of new energy vehicles from manufacturers across the country was 690,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 77% and a month-on-month decrease of 38%.
The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) analysis shows that the new energy vehicle market at the beginning of this year is showing divergent trends. Extended-range electric vehicles are performing well, plug-in hybrids are relatively stable, high-end long-range pure electric vehicles are strong, and entry-level short-range electric vehicles are weak. According to IT Home’s report earlier this month, the CPCA estimates that the wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles in January will reach 700,000 units, an increase of 80% year-on-year, but a decrease of 37% from the previous month. CPCA Secretary-General Cui Dongshu has stated that the gradual accumulation of new energy vehicle inventory in the fourth quarter of 2023, due to the subsidy exit effect, will provide strong support for January 2024 sales. However, the retail recovery of new energy vehicles has been extremely slow since mid-January, especially for short and medium-range pure electric vehicles, leading to a flat trend in wholesale sales.
Earlier today, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also released the production and sales of the automotive industry in January 2024: the production and sales of new energy vehicles in that month reached 787,000 and 729,000 respectively, with a month-on-month decrease of 32.9% and 38.8% and a year-on-year increase of 85.3% and 78.8%, reaching a market share of 29.9%.