Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China declined sharply in January from the previous month, as the Chinese New Year holiday affected demand and the market entered a seasonal slowdown, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.
Retail sales of passenger NEVs totaled 744,000 units last month, down 42.9% from December but up 10.5% year-on-year. The figure was lower than the CPCA’s preliminary estimate of 786,000 units released on February 8 but higher than the 720,000 units projected at the end of January.
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Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 57.8% of total NEV sales, with 430,000 units sold, marking a 13.3% increase from a year earlier but a 44.5% drop from December. Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), excluding extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), saw retail sales of 250,000 units, up 19.3% year-on-year but down 40.3% month-on-month. EREVs contributed 64,000 units, falling 24.2% year-on-year and 41.1% from December.
“Many consumers completed their car purchases before the holiday, leading to weaker market performance in January,” the CPCA said. The Chinese New Year holiday, which ran from January 28 to February 4, also reduced effective selling days by more than four compared to the previous year, it added.
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Overall, China’s passenger car market, including sedans, SUVs, and MPVs, saw retail sales of 1.79 million units in January, down 12.1% year-on-year and 31.9% from December.
The retail penetration of NEVs in January stood at 41.5%, up 9 percentage points year-on-year but down 7.9 percentage points from December. Among NEV brands, domestic Chinese brands led with a 60.6% penetration rate, while luxury brands held 20%, and mainstream joint venture brands accounted for just 3%.
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Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs fell 41.2% month-on-month to 889,000 units, though they remained up 27.1% year-on-year. The wholesale penetration rate stood at 42.3%, reflecting a 9 percentage point increase from the previous year but a 6.9 percentage point decline from December.
Meanwhile, China exported 139,000 passenger NEVs in January, a 29.4% increase from a year earlier and a 13.9% rise from December. BEVs accounted for 66% of these exports, with A0 and A00-class BEVs representing 38%, according to the CPCA.