Due to the price hikes, NEV orders before the price hikes performed well, with ample orders overall, the CPCA said.
China's wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 455,000 units in March, up 122.4 percent year-on-year and up 43.6 percent from February, according to a report released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
This includes 371,000 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and 84,000 PHEVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles), accounting for 81.5 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively.
Wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China from January to March were 1.19 million units, up 145.4 percent year-on-year.
China's March retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles were 445,000 units, up 137.6 percent year-on-year and up 63.1 percent from February, the CPCA said.
That includes 360,000 BEVs and 85,000 PHEVs.
Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles from January to March were 1.07 million units, up 146.6 percent from a year earlier.
Wholesale sales of all passenger vehicles by vehicle companies in China were 1.814 million units in March, down 1.6 percent year-on-year and up 23.6 percent from February.
Retail sales of passenger vehicles in March were 1.579 million units, down 10.5 percent year-on-year and up 25.6 percent from February.
In the new energy vehicle (NEV) market, which was affected by the price hike, pre-price hike orders performed well and overall orders were sufficient, the CPCA said.
Overall, although China still has local Covid cases, especially concentrated in mega cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai which are the main NEV markets, the relatively mild move in most areas at the time had no significant impact on residents' travel and car purchase consumption, the CPCA said.
Wholesale sales penetration rate at 25.1 percent
In wholesale sales in March, the penetration rate of NEVs was 25.1 percent, up 14 percentage points from 11.1 percent in March 2021.
In March, the penetration rate of NEVs was 41 percent among local brands and 34 percent among luxury vehicles, compared to only 3 percent among mainstream joint venture brands.
Wholesale sales of pure electric vehicles in March were 371,000 units, up 116.8 percent year-on-year; plug-in hybrid sales were 84,000 units, up 151.3 percent year-on-year.
This to some extent validates some manufacturers' prediction of the market that plug-in hybrids are the first step for potential consumers from the fuel car market to switch to NEVs, the CPCA said.
Wholesale sales of A00-class electric vehicles were 119,000, a 32 percent share of pure electric vehicles.
The A0 class was 55,000, accounting for 15 percent of pure EV sales.
The share of A class EVs was 22 percent and the share of B class EVs was 30 percent.
Retail sales penetration was 28.2 percent
In March retail sales, the penetration rate of NEVs in China was 28.2 percent, up 17.6 percentage points from 10.6 percent in March 2021.
In March, the penetration rate of NEVs among local brands was 46 percent, luxury vehicles was 32 percent, and mainstream joint venture brands was only 4.3 percent.
Exports
Exports of NEVs from China were 11,000 units in March, down from 45,300 units in February and 52,000 units in January.
Due to quarter-end factors, Tesla China exported 60 units in March, down 33,000 units from February, the CPCA said.
SAIC Passenger Vehicles exported 4,658 NEVs, Dongfeng eGT 2,532 units and BYD 1,109 units.
13 companies exceeded 10,000 wholesale sales
There were 13 companies whose wholesale sales exceeded 10,000 units in March, two more than the same month last year.
BYD's wholesale sales in March were 104,338 units, Tesla China 65,814 units, SAIC-GM-Wuling 51,157 units, and Chery 21,817 units.
Xpeng Motors' wholesale sales in March were 15,414 units, Neta was 12,026 units, Li Auto was 11,034 units, and Leapmotor was 10,059 units.
The sales performance of new power companies including Xpeng, Li Auto, Neta, Leapmotor, Nio and WM Motor in March was generally good, especially the price increase of Xpeng, Li Auto and Neta had little impact, the CPCA said.
Among the mainstream joint venture brands, Volkswagen's joint ventures in China sold 12,709 units of NEVs at wholesale, accounting for 63 percent of the mainstream joint venture brands' share.
Volkswagen's determined electrification transition strategy is beginning to bear fruit, while other joint ventures and luxury brands still need to step up their efforts, the CPCA said.
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