China’s NEV penetration at retail was 32.3 percent in April, up 6.6 percentage points from 25.7 percent in April 2022 but lower than 34.2 percent in March.
Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles (passenger NEVs) in China were 527,000 units in April, up 85.6 percent year-on-year but down 3.6 percent from March, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
This was lower than the CPCA’s preliminary figure of 529,000 units released on May 6 and higher than its estimate of 500,000 units released on April 25.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) retail sales in April were 370,000 units, accounting for 70.2 percent of all NEV retail sales. This represents a 73.5 percent year-on-year increase and a 4.3 percent decrease from March.
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) retail sales in April were 157,000 units, contributing 29.8 percent of NEV retail sales, up 122.0 percent year-on-year and down 1.8 percent from March.
Retail sales of all passenger vehicles in China were 1.63 million units in April, up 55.5 percent year-on-year and up 2.5 percent from March.
Notably, this is the second time since 2010 that China’s retail vehicle sales were higher in April than in March, the CPCA said.
The penetration of NEVs at retail in China was 32.3 percent in April, up 6.6 percentage points from 25.7 percent in April 2022 but down from 34.2 percent in March.
The penetration rate of NEVs was 56.5 percent for local brands, 23.8 percent for luxury brands and 4.4 percent for mainstream joint venture brands.
Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs in China were 607,000 units in April, up 115.6 percent year-on-year but down 1.7 percent from March.
This means that the penetration of NEVs at wholesale was 33.9 percent in April, up 5.9 percentage points from 28 percent penetration in April 2022 and up from 31 percent in March.
China’s local brands had 49.5 percent penetration of NEVs at wholesale in April, compared to 35.5 percent for luxury brands and 4.1 percent for mainstream joint venture brands.
China exported 91,000 passenger NEVs in April, with BEVs accounting for 92.8 percent of the total. This represents a year-on-year increase of 1028.5 percent, up 29.4 percent from March, and contributes 31 percent of all passenger car exports.
Tesla China exported 35,886 units in April, SAIC passenger cars 21,450 units and BYD 14,827 units, the CPCA said.
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