Chinese NEV (new energy vehicle) sales rebounded in May, after plummeting in April due to renewed COVID-19 lockdowns, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
May saw the second-highest number of NEV cars sold in history in China, reaching 421,000 cars in total. This was 34,000 fewer than in March, when 455,000 NEVs were sold.
Of the May sales, more than a quarter were made by the biggest manufacturer of electric cars in China – the Warren Buffet-backed BYD. According to China.org, the Chinese EV giant sold 114,900 cars in May, a 250% increase from 2021.
Across the board, the CPCA figures show a big improvement on April, when just 280,000 NEVs were sold after China’s government imposed several strict citywide Covid-related lockdowns through the earlier part of the year.
This unsurprisingly suppressed domestic and overseas NEV sales, as China serves as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electrified vehicles.
However, with the lifting of the hefty restrictions and lockdowns, it appears that a recovery is on the cards China’s NEV market – which covers plug-in electric vehicles eligible for public subsidies, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs), and fuel-cell EVs (FCEVs).
And, as with all numbers of late, yearly and monthly comparisons are hugely affected by the long-term impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the year-on-year percentage increases are a little misleading in May’s numbers, but nevertheless, this highlights the rebound underway in China’s NEV sector after the impact of the pandemic.
The numbers, translated into English by CnEVPost, showed that wholesale sales of NEV passenger cars reached 421,000 units in May, an increase of 111.5% year-on-year and up 49.8% from April.
Source: CNEV Post
May’s numbers are in line with overall strong growth in 2022, excluding the lockdown-impacted April, exceeding the 412,000 units sold in January but slightly lower than the 455,000 sold in March.
Nevertheless, according to the CPCA, the year-on-year improvements in May have exceeded expectations, and Chinese wholesale NEV sales across the first five months of the year reached 1.89 million, up 117.4% over the same period a year earlier.
Retail numbers are a little different, with 360,000 NEV units sold in May, up 91.2% year-on-year, and up only 26.9% with April. Across the first five months of the year, retail NEV sales were a little healthier, speaking to a stronger start to the year, reaching 1.71 million units, up 119.5% year-on-year.
The Wuling Hongguang Mini has also been a best-selling EV in China. Image: Wuling Motors
Year-on-year sales performance is still being impacted by production delays, with the supply shortage of NEVs intensifying, according to the CPCA, resulting in significant delays in undelivered orders.
This can be seen in the overall decrease of wholesale passenger vehicle sales for May, which was down 1.3% year-on-year to 1.59 million. However, the flip side of this is the good news for the NEV sector, which is obviously increasing its market share. Specifically, NEVs accounted for 26.5% of all wholesale sales in May, up from the 12.4% recorded in May 2021.
Looking forward, the CPCA says that passenger vehicle production capacity will be strong through June, resulting in production and sales growth of over 10% from a year ago.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
