CPCA Estimates

In May, the start of car trade-in subsidies and the cooling of price wars have stimulated spending among groups that were previously on the sidelines, the CPCA said.

China's overall passenger vehicle retail sales in May is expected to be around 1.65 million units, down 5.3 percent year-on-year, the CPCA said.

Since the beginning of the year, consumers have been in a wait-and-see mood, and the passenger car market has not been able to regain momentum in sales, the CPCA said.

Price wars intensified in China's auto market in April, with overall discounts slightly higher than in March, the CPCA said.

Both production and sales of passenger vehicles increased significantly in March from February as industries quickly turned to normal operations after the Chinese New Year holiday, the CPCA said.

The NEV penetration rate is expected to reach a record 45.5 percent in March as it reversed the pre-holiday slump and rose rapidly, the CPCA said.

February sales in China's auto market are expected to be the lowest of the year, the CPCA said.

China's auto market saw seasonal weakness in February as the 2024 Lunar New Year holiday fell in mid-February, the CPCA noted.

China's January wholesale sales of passenger NEVs are expected to be 700,000 units, up 80 percent year-on-year, but down 37 percent from December, the CPCA said.

China's passenger car retail sales are estimated to be around 2.2 million units in January, down 6.5 percent from December.