Data published by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed that in April, car sales fell by 9.6% compared to March and by 5.8% per annum, reaching 1.55 million units. The CPCA said that in March, car sales increased by 53% over the month and by 5.7% year-on-year. The April contraction was driven by an unstable economic recovery, as a result of which consumers were cautious about large expenditures.
While the share of new energy vehicle (NEV) sales scaled a new high (43.5% of total car sales), sales of electric vehicles are still far slower than those of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). China has set a goal to increase the share of NEV to 45% by 2027.
According to the report, EV sales increased by 12.1% per annum in April, but fell by 6.3% m/m. In March, EV sales grew by 10.5% per annum. PHEV sales grew by 64.2% per annum and fell by 4.7% on a monthly basis after increasing by 75.4% per annum in March. The PHEV segment, which has grown faster since 2022, drives the success of domestic giant BYD , making up 57% of the company's car sales in April. Meanwhile, China's share of the global PHEV market grew to almost 70% in Q1.
The data also showed that China’s car exports jumped 38% in April, reaching a new monthly record of 417,000. In March, car exports increased by 39%.