ANN/CHINA DAILY – Following strong single-digit growth in the initial eight months of 2023, China’s car sales for the year are projected to increase by a minimum of three per cent compared to the previous year.
Vice-Chief Engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Xu Haidong highlighted this positive trend during the association’s monthly media briefing, emphasising the resilience of the market and the recovery of the commercial vehicle sector.
“Our sales for the whole year are expected to see a three per cent rise year-on-year, or even better than that,” said Xu, adding that CAAM data shows August sales rose 8.4 per cent year-on-year to 2.58 million units and both sales and output reversed July declines as pro-consumption government policies took effect.
From January to August, nationwide vehicle production and sales rose by 7.4 per cent and eight per cent respectively, generally on par with the growth observed in the first seven months. China is aiming to bring this year’s vehicle sales to about 27 million units, which would represent an increase of three per cent over the 2022 level, according to a work plan unveiled earlier this month by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other government departments.
For new energy vehicles, the country is targeting annual sales of around nine million units, or a 30 per cent rise year-on-year.
The plan recommends that all existing supportive policies for neighbourhood electric vehicle (NEV) sales and use should remain in place and no further restrictions should be placed on gasoline-powered vehicle purchases.
In August, Geely Automobile sold 152,626 vehicles, marking a month-on-month rise of 10 per cent and a year-on-year jump of 24 per cent. Notably, the company’s NEV segment contributed significantly to those figures with 47,299 units sold, accounting for almost one-third of the total. Great Wall Motor, China’s largest SUV and pickup truck manufacturer, sold 114,100 vehicles last month – up 29.32 per cent year-on-year – and its five marques, including Haval and Wey, all saw an increase in deliveries.
Haval seized the lion’s share of the sales in August with 66,523 units, up 31.99 per cent year-on-year, while GWM’s total sales from January to August numbered 742,400 units, up 4.76 per cent year-on-year.
Tesla sold 64,694 cars in China in August, while deliveries of its China-made Model Y hit 65,316 last month to top the list of passenger vehicle models available in the domestic market, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
BYD, China’s largest NEV maker, saw its August sales hit a record 274,386 units, according to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcement. That represents a 56.87 per cent rise year-on-year and a 4.66 per cent increase from July.