China’s retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) declined from a year earlier for the sixth consecutive month in June, although exports continued to expand rapidly, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The CPCA reported that NEV retail sales totaled 1.007 million units in June, representing a 9.4% decline from the same month a year earlier. Compared with May, however, sales increased 6.0%, marking the first time this year that monthly NEV retail sales exceeded one million units.
Despite the decline in sales, the NEV retail penetration rate remained high at 62.8%, up 9.5 percentage points from a year earlier and just 0.1 percentage point below the record level reached in May.
Conventional Vehicle Sales Continue to Weaken
Total passenger vehicle retail sales in China reached 1.602 million units in June, down 23.2% year-on-year but up 6.1% from the previous month.
The CPCA said the overall market decline was largely driven by weakening sales of gasoline-powered vehicles. Retail sales of conventional gasoline passenger vehicles fell 39% from a year earlier, with sales of pure gasoline models dropping 42%, while conventional hybrid vehicles declined 7%.
According to the association, elevated fuel prices and changing consumer preferences continue to accelerate the shift toward vehicle electrification.
Battery Electric Vehicles Lead the Market
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) remained the largest segment of China’s NEV market.
BEV retail sales reached 685,000 units in June, increasing 3.6% from a year earlier and 7.4% from May.
Sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) totaled 241,000 units, down 27.3% year-on-year, while extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) recorded 82,000 units, a decline of 31.9%.
Exports Hit Record Share
China’s NEV exports climbed to 499,000 units in June, an increase of 152.7% from a year earlier and 17.6% higher than in May.
NEVs accounted for 56.9% of total passenger vehicle exports during the month, the highest proportion on record and 15.9 percentage points above the level recorded a year earlier.
Overall passenger vehicle exports reached 877,000 units, rising 82.3% year-on-year and accounting for 37% of manufacturers’ total vehicle sales.
BYD Maintains Market Lead
Among automakers, BYD remained the largest player in China’s domestic NEV market with 224,478 retail vehicle sales in June.
Geely Auto ranked second with 107,951 units, followed by Leapmotor with 72,376 units.
Changan Automobile recorded domestic NEV retail sales of 66,900 units, while Tesla’s China operations sold 52,920 vehicles during the month.
Source: CnEVPost
