China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) industry will recover this month following a notable sales drop in July, China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) projects. It expects retail sales to increase 31.5% year-on-year and 9.2% month-on-month to approximately 700,000 NEVs in August.
CPCA’s latest estimates
Automakers reportedly aim to hit around a 5% MoM increase in retail sales in August. In contrast, they expect to record a minor YoY sales decline.
The report noted that these companies accounted for around 80% of the country’s passenger car sales.
The association’s preliminary projections suggest that passenger car sales will reach 1.85 million units this month. That number represents a MoM growth of 4.7% and a 1.3% YoY decline.
Therefore, the NEV penetration rate in retail sales will slightly increase from 36.1% in July to 37.8% this month.
The CPCA noted established automakers’ price cuts and promotional strategies this month, which enabled the market to remain stable.
China’s daily vehicle retail sales on average
The intense rainfall across the country’s northern and northeastern areas impeded customer purchases from late July to early August. In effect, major automakers’ daily retail sales declined 0.8% YoY on average to 40,100 units in the first week of the month.
Fortunately, the average daily retail sales recovered with a YoY increase of 12.6% to 49,100 units in the second week.
In the following week, the automotive industry decelerated with a minor retail sales growth of 2.9% YoY to 51,900 units.
As for the fourth week, CPCA estimates the market to rebound with a 4.4% YoY retail sales increase to 60,700 units.
However, the association forecasts that the country’s average daily car retail sales will drop 14.7% YoY to 128,200 units.
Meanwhile, NEV makers introduced more models in the second half of 2023 than in H1. The CPCA anticipates these model launches to boost the NEV industry this month until H2 2023.
See Also:
- CICC expects 1.5 million China NEV sales in Q1, up from January’s low
- China NEV insurance registrations for Jan 16-Jan 29: BYD 29,988, Tesla 10,852, NIO 3,435
- CPCA: China’s NEV retail sales in March will grow 27.5% to 560,000 from February
- BYD’s NEV insurance registrations more than double Tesla’s in China for the week ending March 19
- CPCA: China’s retail sales of passenger NEVs increased 32% from January
China remains to be the world’s largest automotive and electric vehicle market. Therefore, CPCA’s forecast that the country’s NEV industry would rebound this month is unsurprising despite its recent challenges.
