Retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China climbed to their highest level of the year in June, driven by strong demand for battery electric and plug-in hybrid models, according to data released on Wednesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Passenger NEV retail sales totaled 1.111 million units in June, marking a 29.7% increase from a year earlier and an 8.2% rise from May. The figure surpassed the CPCA’s preliminary and estimated figures of 1.071 million and 1.1 million units, respectively. It was also the second time this year that monthly retail sales exceeded the 1-million-unit mark.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 661,000 units, representing 59.5% of total NEV sales, unchanged from May. BEV sales rose 33.1% year-on-year and 7.8% from the previous month. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), excluding extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), posted retail sales of 334,000 units, up 32.4% year-on-year and 12.3% month-on-month. EREVs added another 116,000 units, up 7.8% from a year earlier but slightly down 0.3% from May.
Combined PHEV and EREV sales reached 450,000 units in June, representing a 23.7% year-on-year increase and an 8.7% monthly rise. Overall, NEVs accounted for 53.3% of all passenger vehicle retail sales in June, up 4.8 percentage points from a year earlier and 0.4 points from the previous month.
Sales of all passenger vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, and MPVs, totaled 2.084 million units in June, up 18.1% from a year earlier and 7.6% from May.
The penetration rate of NEVs in retail sales for domestic Chinese brands stood at 75.4% in June, compared to 30.3% for luxury brands and 5.3% for mainstream joint-venture brands.
Wholesale figures also showed solid momentum, with passenger NEV sales reaching 1.241 million units, a 27.0% year-on-year increase and a 1.6% month-on-month rise. However, the penetration rate for NEVs in wholesale sales edged down 2.8 percentage points from May to 49.8%, though it remained 4.6 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
