Monthly Data

BYD returned to the top spot in the LFP battery market with a 42.68 percent share in April, overtaking CATL's 33.65 percent.

Irrational promotions in China's auto market since March have led to consumer wait-and-see, so auto consumption is still in a slow recovery process, the CAAM said.

China's NEV penetration at retail was 32.3 percent in April, up 6.6 percentage points from 25.7 percent in April 2022 but lower than 34.2 percent in March.

Including exports, China-made Model 3 and Model Y sales in April were 26,783 and 49,059 vehicles, respectively, according to the CPCA.

China's retail sales of passenger NEVs in April were 529,000 units, up 87 percent year-on-year, but down 3 percent from March, according to the CPCA.

China's auto industry price war faded in April, easing consumer wait-and-see sentiment and releasing suppressed demand, the CPCA said.

Tesla's April sales in China may have been negatively impacted by consumer expectations of price cuts. It raised the prices of all its models in China this week, seemingly aimed at dampening such expectations.

CATL's battery is expected to maintain its No. 1 position as it is in high demand in passenger cars such as the Tesla Model 3, Model Y, SAIC Mulan, and the Chinese commercial vehicle market, according to SNE Research.

BYD has offered some discounts on the Seal, Song Plus, Yuan Plus and Dolphin in the price war in the Chinese auto industry over the past two months.

Edison Yu's team continues to expect most automakers to be aggressive, as market share is a top priority.