Industry association retains full-year purchase estimate of 5m vehicles

Sales of new energy vehicles－NEVs－in China regained three-digit year-on-year growth last month after COVID-19 dampened the sector's growth in April, with carmakers selling 447,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids, up 105.2 percent year-on-year and 49.6 percent month-on-month.

The solid sales performance in May has prompted the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers to retain its full-year sales estimate of 5 million units, which would mark a nearly 43 percent rise year-on-year.

NEV deliveries from January to May topped 2 million units, up 111.2 percent year-on-year.

"So we are confident that NEV sales will exceed 5 million units this year," said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the association.

COVID-19 outbreaks disrupted supply chains and slashed showroom traffic in April, driving NEV sales growth rate down sharply to 44.6 percent year-on-year, the lowest rate in months.

Yet, as the pandemic has been brought under better control, carmakers are revving up their production and seeing more visitors at their dealers.

Tesla told China Daily on Thursday its Shanghai plant resumed production in late April with the help of local authorities and over 40,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles have since rolled off the assembly line. Production at the plant has reached "100 percent" of its capacity, showing the "resilience of Chinese manufacturing", said the carmaker in a statement.

In May, the United States-headquartered carmaker produced 33,544 vehicles, up 212 percent from April. Sales reached 32,165 units, including the 22,340 vehicles that were exported to Europe, Australia and Japan among other destinations.

In April, Tesla sold only 1,512 units, and none was exported.

Other major NEV makers also recorded impressive sales in May as supplies matched pent-up demand from previous months.

Data from the China Passenger Car Association showed that 13 NEV carmakers saw their sales exceed 10,000 units in May.

Of them, China's BYD, now the world's third most valuable carmaker, came on top. It sold 114,183 electric cars and plug-in hybrids last month, up 152.8 percent year-on-year.

The vehicle market recovered somewhat in May as a whole. Around 1.93 million vehicles were produced and 1.86 million units sold, up 59.7 percent and 57.6 percent from April respectively.

Chen at the CAAM said he expects the market to further improve starting from this month as the government has put in place a number of favorable policies to boost vehicle purchases.

For instance, those who buy passenger cars priced under 300,000 yuan ($44,709) and with engine displacements within 2 liters are now eligible for a 5 percent purchase tax instead of 10 percent of a vehicle's sticker price. The measure will be valid until the end of this year.

Soochow Securities data showed that over 80 percent of gasoline-powered car models in the market are eligible for the tax cut.

Chen estimated the measures could generate sales of another 2 million passenger vehicles, with their combined value reaching over 300 billion yuan ($44.85 billion).