Improved supply and expectations of higher oil prices have kept the NEV market booming with strong order books, the CPCA said.

China's wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles fell slightly to 564,000 units in July, after reaching a record high in June, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

This represents a 129.3 percent increase from 246,000 units in the same month last year and a 1.23 percent decrease from 571,000 units in June.

At a time when the purchase tax on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles was cut in half, sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) were not only unaffected but improved more than expected sequentially, the CPCA said.

Chinese consumers are currently exempt from purchase tax on NEVs, and starting in June, the country cut the purchase tax on mainstream ICE vehicles from 10 percent to 5 percent in an effort to spur economic growth.

Improved supply and expectations of higher oil prices have kept the NEV market booming with strong order performance, the CPCA said.

The year-on-year performance of both NEVs and traditional ICE vehicles in July was influenced by policies, and those introduced by local governments to encourage consumption saw strong orders in July, a traditionally slow month, according to the CPCA.

In July, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for the vast majority of NEV sales, with 428,000 wholesale units sold, or 76 percent. Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) accounted for 136,000 units of wholesale sales in July.

From January to July, China's wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles were 3.03 million units, up 123 percent year on year.

In terms of retail sales, China's new energy passenger vehicle sales reached 486,000 units in July, up 117.3 percent year-on-year and down 8.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the CPCA.

Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China from January to July were 2,733,000 units, up 121.5 percent year-on-year.

Wholesale sales of all vehicles in China were 2.13 million units in July, up 40.8 percent year-on-year and down 2.5 percent from June. Retail sales were 1.82 million units, up 20.4 percent year-on-year and down 6.5 percent from June.

In terms of wholesale sales, the penetration rate of NEVs in China was 26.4 percent in July, up 0.3 percentage points from 26.1 percent in June. Local brands were 45.9 percent, luxury brands were 15.8 percent, and mainstream joint venture brands were only 5.2 percent.

In retail sales, the penetration rate of NEVs in July was 26.7, lower than the 27.4 percent in June. Among them, local brands were 51.7 percent, luxury brands were 8.7 percent and mainstream joint venture brands were 4.9 percent.

Tesla sells 28,217 China-made vehicles in July, down 64% from June