Expectations

"I am very confident that in the near future, China supply chain and the auto industry will return to normal," Li said.

In terms of retail sales, China's NEV penetration rate is expected to be about 31.8 percent in December, lower than the 32.3 percent in November.

Demand in China's NEV market has held steady amid high international oil prices, the CPCA said.

A CATL executive's words imply that initial sodium-ion batteries used in production vehicles may not abandon the use of lithium altogether, but rather a mix of the two.

In terms of retail sales, the penetration rate of NEVs in China is expected to be about 32.3 percent in November. This is a new historical record.

For most of the best-selling electric vehicle models, the amount of subsidies as a percentage of the selling price is only 4-11 percent this year, CITIC Securities said.

Chinese cars are affordable, while Western manufacturers can't offer enough electric vehicles, Fitch Solutions said.

This means that China's new energy passenger car sales will continue to reach a record high in September, up 87 percent year-on-year and up 5 percent from August.

At retail, China's NEV penetration rate reached a record 29.7 percent in September.

This would include 6.99 million BEVs and 3.37 million PHEVs, according to a team of local analysts.