- China's NEV penetration at retail stood at 49.4 percent in December, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline and the first time it has fallen below 50 percent since June.
- BEVs sold 762,000 units at retail in December, contributing 58.5 percent of all NEV retail sales, lower than 59.8 percent in November.
Retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China reached a new record in December, but the contribution of these vehicles to passenger car sales declined further.
Retail sales of passenger NEVs in China totaled 1.302 million units in December, marking the fifth consecutive month above 1 million, up 37.5 percent year-on-year and up 2.6 percent from November, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
This is lower than the 1.379 million preliminary figure released by the CPCA yesterday, and lower than the 1.4 million estimated by the CPCA at the end of last month.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) had retail sales of 762,000 units in December, up 27.2 percent from a year earlier and up 0.6 percent from November.
BEVs contributed 58.5 percent of all NEV retail sales in December, down from 59.8 percent in November.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), excluding extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), contributed 32.2 percent of all NEV retail sales in December with 419,000 units sold, up 72.7 percent year-on-year and up 0.6 percent from November.
Retail sales of EREVs were 122,000 units in December, contributing 9.4 percent of NEV retail sales, up 15.1 percent year-on-year and up 0.5 percent from November.
Combined retail sales of PHEVs and EREVs were 541,000 in December, up 55.9 percent year-on-year and up 6.1 percent from November.
China's passenger cars, including sedans, SUVs and MPVs, retailed a record 2.635 million units in December, up 12.0 percent year-on-year and up 8.7 percent from November.
This means that the overall sequential growth rate of China's passenger car retail sales outpaced the growth rate of NEVs.
China's NEV penetration rate at retail stood at 49.4 percent in December, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline and the first time it has fallen below the 50 percent mark since June.
The penetration rate was 9.1 percentage points higher than the 40.3 percent recorded in the same period last year, but 3.8 percentage points lower than the 52.3 percent recorded in November.
The dip in penetration of NEVs at retail could be largely due to gasoline vehicle sales seeing faster growth rates, incentivized by the government's trade-in policy.
NEV penetration at retail in December was 71.3 percent for local brands, 33.9 percent for luxury brands, and 4.8 percent for mainstream JV brands, according to CPCA.
China's wholesale sales of passenger NEVs reached a record 1.512 million units in December, up 35.6 percent year-on-year and up 5 percent from November.
NEV penetration in wholesale was 49.2 percent in December, below 50 percent. In October, NEV penetration in wholesale exceeded 50 percent for the first time, reaching 50.1 percent.
The penetration of local Chinese NEVs in December was 67 percent, compared to 36 percent for luxury brands and 4.3 percent for mainstream JVs.
Passenger NEVs exported from China amounted to 122,000 units in December, up 21.5 percent year-on-year and up 52.9 percent from November, contributing 30 percent of passenger car exports.
BEVs contributed 62 percent of December's NEV exports, with exports of A0- and A00-class BEVs accounting for 45 percent of NEV exports, according to the CPCA.
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