China’s April NEV Retail Sales Rise 33.9% Year-on-Year, Despite Monthly Decline

Retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China rose 33.9% in April from a year earlier, although volumes declined from March, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

A total of 905,000 NEVs were sold at retail last month, down 8.7% from March but higher than the CPCA’s end-of-April forecast of 900,000 units. The figure was slightly lower than the earlier preliminary estimate of 922,000.

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Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for the largest share with 559,000 units sold, a 38% year-on-year increase but a 13.5% drop from March. BEVs made up 61.8% of total NEV retail sales, compared to 65.2% in the previous month.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), excluding extended-range EVs (EREVs), contributed 260,000 units, up 25.6% from a year ago but down 3% from March. EREVs recorded 86,000 units, showing a 32.3% increase year-on-year and an 11.7% rise from the previous month. Combined, PHEVs and EREVs posted retail sales of 346,000 units, up 27.3% year-on-year and edging up 0.3% month-on-month.

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Overall retail sales of passenger vehicles in China — including sedans, SUVs, and MPVs — stood at 1.76 million units in April, up 14.5% from a year ago but down 9.4% from March. NEVs accounted for 51.5% of retail sales, up 7 percentage points from April 2023 and 0.4 points from the previous month.

Local Chinese brands continued to dominate, with a NEV retail penetration rate of 72.8% in April, compared to 23.5% for luxury brands and 6.8% for mainstream joint ventures.

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Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs reached 1.133 million units, a 40.2% year-on-year increase and up 0.3% from March. Wholesale NEV penetration hit a record 51.7%, up 11 points from a year earlier and nearly 5 points from the previous month.

China also exported 189,000 passenger NEVs in April, up 44.2% year-on-year and 31.6% from March. These exports represented 44.6% of total passenger car exports. BEVs made up 65% of NEV exports, down from 81% a year ago. Compact A0- and A00-class BEVs contributed 33% of NEV exports, unchanged from the prior year.