China NEV retail sales up 11.8% MoM to record 716,000 in Aug, CPCA data show

Retail penetration of NEVs in China stood at 37.3 percent in August, up 9 percentage points from 28.3 percent a year earlier and up from 36.1 percent in July.

Retail sales of passenger new energy vehicles (passenger NEVs) in China rebounded to a record 716,000 units in August, surpassing the 700,000-unit mark for the first time, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

That’s up 34.5 percent from a year ago and up 11.8 percent from July.

The figure is higher than the preliminary figure of 698,000 units released by the CPCA earlier this month, and higher than the estimate of 700,000 units it released at the end of last month.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for a record 491,000 retail sales in August, or 68.6 percent of all retail sales of NEVs. This was up 22.8 percent year-on-year and up 16.63 percent from July.

Plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) retail sales were a record 226,000 units in August, contributing 31.6 percent of all NEV retail sales. This was up 70 percent year-on-year and up 2.73 percent from July.

China’s passenger vehicles, including sedans, SUVs and MPVs, retailed at 1.92 million units in August, up 2.5 percent year-on-year and up 8.6 percent from July.

The penetration rate of NEVs at retail in China was 37.3 percent in August, up 9 percentage points from 28.3 percent a year earlier and up from 36.1 percent in July.

Retail penetration of NEVs by local brands was 60.2 percent, compared to 60.2 percent for luxury brands and 5.2 percent for mainstream joint venture brands, according to the CPCA.

From January to August, retail sales of passenger NEVs in China amounted to 4.44 million units, up 36.0 percent year-on-year.

In August, China’s wholesale sales of passenger NEVs reached a record 798,000 units, up 25.6 percent year-on-year and up 8.2 percent from July.

This means that the penetration of NEVs in wholesale was 35.7 percent in August, up 5.5 percentage points from 30.2 percent a year earlier and unchanged from July.

The penetration rate of NEVs in August was 51 percent for local Chinese brands, 34.6 percent for luxury brands, and 6.1 percent for mainstream joint venture brands.

In the January-August period, wholesale sales of passenger NEVs in China amounted to 5.08 million units, up 38.5 percent year-on-year.

China’s passenger NEV exports were 78,000 units in August, up 1.7 percent year-on-year but down 11.8 percent from July, contributing 24 percent of passenger vehicle exports.

BEVs contributed 93.3 percent of China’s NEV exports in August, according to the CPCA.

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