China's Car Sales Fall 22% in May Amid Weak Fuel Auto Market, Record NEV Adoption
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.China's retail car sales fell 22% year-on-year in May to 1.51 million units, driven by a 39% plunge in fuel vehicle sales. Conversely, new energy vehicle (NEV) adoption hit a record high of 62.9%, with NEV exports surging 113%. Car exports overall rose 75% to 784,000 units. BYD, Geely, and Changan led domestic sales but saw declines. The China Passenger Car Association expects monthly recovery but year-on-year pressure due to weak demand and high oil prices.
(Yicai) June 9 -- China's retail car sales plunged 22 percent last month from a year earlier, dragged down by fuel-powered vehicles, while the new energy vehicle penetration rate reached a record high.
Some 1.51 million passenger vehicles were sold through retail channels in May, which was up 9.2 percent from the previous month, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association yesterday. Sales of fuel cars tumbled 39 percent year on year, accounting for 82 percent of the overall decline in retail sales.
Persistently high oil prices have dampened consumer hunger for fuel vehicles and accelerated the shift toward electric cars, with NEV adoption at 62.9 percent despite retail sales falling 7.5 percent to 950,000 units. In addition, the number of NEVs sold at wholesale jumped 11 percent to 1.35 million units for a penetration rate of 61 percent.
Car exports, including complete units and complete knock-down kits, surged 75 percent to 784,000 units, accounting for 35 percent of automakers' total sales. NEV exports soared 113 percent to 424,000 units, while domestic brand shipments rose 83 percent to 682,000 units.
BYD led retail sales, followed by Geely Auto and Changan Automobile, with the three Chinese carmakers seeing sales drop 29 percent, 17 percent, and 32 percent to 207,000 units, 169,000 units, and 92,000 units, respectively. Leapmotor was the only EV startup to break into the top ten after sales surged 48 percent to 61,000 units.
Joint-venture brands saw encouraging signs in their electrification push after retail NEV sales by top JV brands rose 51 percent, while their wholesale penetration rate climbed to 15 percent. In comparison, Chinese NEV retail sales fell 10 percent, amid subsidy cuts on budget EVs and a weakening micro vehicle market.
For this month, the CPCA expects the market to maintain a pattern of monthly recovery but year-on-year pressure. The push at the end of the first half and continued NEV adoption are likely to support a month-over-month rebound, but with weak domestic demand and high oil prices, there will be limited room for substantive improvement from the previous year.
Editor: Martin Kadiev