Summary

October passenger NEV retail sales rose 6% from a month earlier, pushing the penetration rate to a record high of 67.8%. For details, please visit CnEVPost (cnev.co).

  • October passenger NEV retail sales rose 6% from a month earlier, pushing the penetration rate to a record high of 67.8%.
  • Overall passenger car retail sales dropped 25% year-on-year to 1.693 million units.

China's passenger new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales totaled 1.148 million units in October, down 10% from a year earlier and narrowing the pace of decline from September, preliminary figures showed.

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released the data in its latest weekly report on Wednesday, showing October NEV retail sales rose 6% from September.

This marked the tenth consecutive month of year-on-year decline for China's passenger NEV retail sales, though the drop narrowed from 16.7% in September.

The CPCA had previously projected on October 23 that October NEV retail sales would come in at about 1.07 million units, a year-on-year drop of 16.5%.

The NEV retail penetration rate stood at 67.8% in October, surpassing September's record high of 67.0% and beating the earlier forecast of 66.9%.

In the first 10 months of the year, cumulative NEV retail sales fell 12% year-on-year to 8.907 million units.

Preliminary data showed passenger NEV wholesale volume by automakers rose 12% year-on-year and 8% month-on-month to 1.807 million units in October, resulting in a wholesale penetration rate of 68.6%. Cumulative wholesale volume in the first 10 months reached 13.26 million units, up 10% from a year earlier.

Most NEV brands currently lack blockbuster models, yet automakers still need to maintain a steady production pace and account for production and sales targets, leading to a wide gap between externally estimated order figures and companies' actual sales, the CPCA said.

For the broader market, nationwide passenger car retail sales fell 25% year-on-year in October to 1.693 million units, though they gained 5% from the prior month. Year-to-date retail sales dropped 22% year-on-year to 15.03 million units.

The CPCA had previously estimated October retail sales at roughly 1.6 million units, a 28.9% year-on-year decline.

China's passenger car wholesale volume fell 10% year-on-year in October to 2.635 million units, while rising 3% month-on-month. Cumulative wholesale volume so far this year declined 6% year-on-year to 22.37 million units.

Persistently high international oil prices have kept vehicle operating costs elevated, resulting in a deeper-than-expected slump in internal combustion engine vehicle consumption. In the first 4 weeks of October, nationwide production of pure fuel light-duty vehicles plummeted 52% year-on-year to 386,000 units.

Auto market growth in October was jointly driven by National Day auto shows, local subsidies and peak-season promotions by automakers, resulting in a relatively modest recovery, the CPCA said.

Intra-month trends pointed to a lack of sustainability in demand release. In the first week of October, average daily passenger car retail sales fell 25% year-on-year to 33,000 units, before climbing to 58,000 units in the second week on the back of National Day holiday orders — though still down 22% from a year earlier.

Average daily retail sales pulled back to 47,000 units in the third week, down 29% year-on-year, and stood at 51,000 units in the fourth week, a 26% drop. In the fifth week, average daily sales jumped to 91,000 units driven by an end-of-month sales push, down 22% from a year earlier.

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Lei Kang

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