China's NEV penetration rate at retail stood at 36.9 percent in September, up 5.1 percentage points from 31.8 percent a year earlier but down from 37.3 percent in August.

Retail sales of passenger new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China reached a record 746,000 units in September, surpassing the 700,000-unit mark for the second time, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

That's up 22.1 percent from 610,853 units in the same period last year and up 4.2 percent from 716,000 units in August.

The figure is higher than the preliminary figure of 743,000 units released by the CPCA yesterday, but lower than the estimated figure of 750,000 units it released at the end of last month.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for a record 500,000 retail sales in September, or 67 percent of all retail sales of NEVs. This was up 9.4 percent year-on-year and up 1.9 percent from August.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) retail sales were a record 246,000 units in September, contributing 33 percent of all NEV retail sales. This was up 59.7 percent year-on-year and up 9.2 percent from August.

China's passenger vehicles, including sedans, SUVs and MPVs, retailed at 2.018 million units in September, up 5.0 percent year-on-year and up 5.0 percent from August.

The penetration rate of NEVs at retail in China was 36.9 percent in September, up 5.1 percentage points from 31.8 percent a year earlier but down from 37.3 percent in August.

The retail penetration of NEVs at local brands was 59.4 percent, compared to 24.0 percent for luxury brands and 6.2 percent for mainstream joint venture brands, according to the CPCA.

From January to September, retail sales of passenger NEVs in China amounted to 5.188 million units, up 33.8 percent year-on-year.

Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs in China in September were a record 829,000 units, up 23.0 percent year-on-year and up 4.2 percent from August.

This means that the penetration rate of NEVs in wholesale was 33.9 percent in September, up 4.5 percentage points from 29.3 percent a year earlier and down from 35.7 percent in August.

The penetration of NEVs in September was 49.9 percent for local Chinese brands, 31.1 percent for luxury brands and 5.8 percent for mainstream joint venture brands.

In the January-September period, wholesale sales of Chinese passenger NEVs amounted to 5.904 million units, up 36.0 percent year-on-year.

China's passenger NEVs exported 91,000 units in September, up 107.0 percent year-on-year up and 16.0 percent from August, contributing 25.4 percent of passenger car exports.

BEVs contributed 94.7 percent of China's NEV exports in September, according to the CPCA.

China EV insurance registrations for week ending Oct 8: Li Auto 6,900, Nio 1,300, Xpeng 1,300