China Jan NEV wholesale at 900,000, down 40% from Dec, CPCA estimates show

In January, China's wholesale sales of passenger NEVs were estimated at 900,000 units, up 31 percent from a year earlier but down 40 percent from December.

The Chinese New Year holiday, and the fact that many consumers completed their pre-holiday car purchases early in December, contributed to the weak performance in January.

China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales fell last month, as the market entered a slow season at the start of the year and was also impacted by the Chinese New Year holiday.

In January, wholesale sales of passenger NEVs in China were estimated at 900,000 units, up 31 percent from a year earlier but down 40 percent from December, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said in a report today.

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In December, manufacturers with wholesale sales of more than 10,000 units of passenger NEVs contributed 94.2 percent of all wholesale sales of NEVs in the month, the CPCA said.

The estimated sales of these carmakers in January were 856,000 units, and based on last month's structure, China's January passenger NEV wholesale sales would be at about 900,000 units, the CPCA said.

In China, NEVs include battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and fuel cell vehicles. Their exact numbers are expected to be announced later this month.

Chinese New Year 2025 fell on January 29, leading to a weak sales performance in January, the CPCA said.

In addition, many consumers completed their pre-Chinese New Year car-buying plans early in December, one of the factors that contributed to the weak January car market, according to the CPCA.

Among major carmakers, BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) had NEV wholesale sales of 296,446 units in January, Geely 121,071, Changan Automobile 65,856, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) 63,238, and Chery 54,960 units.

BYD released figures earlier this month showing it sold 300,538 NEVs in January, including 296,446 passenger NEVs, and 4,092 commercial NEVs.

Among other EV makers, Nio (NYSE: NIO) delivered 13,863 vehicles in January, up 37.87 percent from 10,055 a year earlier, but down 55.48 percent from 31,138 in December, according to data it announced on February 1.