Retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China surpassed 1 million units in May, marking the first time this year the sector crossed the milestone, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Passenger NEV retail sales reached 1.021 million units in May, representing a 28.2% increase from a year earlier and a 12.1% rise from April. The figure slightly missed the CPCA’s earlier estimate of 1.056 million units but exceeded its end-of-May forecast of 980,000 units.
“This marks a significant recovery in momentum for the NEV market,” the CPCA said in its report.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 607,000 units, up 22.6% year-on-year and 7.4% from April. BEVs comprised 59.5% of NEV retail sales, down from 61.8% the previous month.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), excluding extended-range EVs (EREVs), contributed 298,000 units, rising 32.3% year-on-year and 15.3% month-on-month. EREVs posted even stronger growth, with 116,000 units sold—up 51.5% from a year earlier and 32.5% from the previous month.
Combined, PHEVs and EREVs reached 414,000 units in May, marking a 34.1% increase from the prior year and a 19.7% gain month-on-month.
NEVs represented 52.9% of all retail passenger vehicle sales in May, a 6.2 percentage point increase from a year ago. Among domestic brands, NEV penetration stood at 74.6%, compared with 25.0% for luxury marques and just 6.4% for mainstream joint-venture brands.
Total retail sales of passenger vehicles—encompassing sedans, SUVs, and MPVs—stood at 1.932 million units in May, up 13.3% year-on-year.
Wholesale NEV deliveries reached 1.216 million units, up 33.0% from May 2023. The wholesale NEV penetration rate hit a record 52.6%, the CPCA said.
Exports of Chinese passenger NEVs totaled 200,000 units in May, a year-on-year increase of 80.9%. BEVs made up 66% of those shipments, down from 81% a year ago, while smaller A0- and A00-class BEVs accounted for 39% of exports, up from 37% in the same period last year.