December retail sales of passenger vehicles in China are expected to be 2.315 million units, up 7.9 percent year-over-year, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said December 17.

The CPCA said that the industry and service sectors continued to pick up in November as the economy continued to recover steadily. Driven by policies to promote consumption and restrictions on vehicles with foreign license plates in some cities, the new energy market hit a new high in sales for the year, with retail sales up a whopping 139 percent year-over-year.

The peak consumption season somewhat overdrew November sales, coupled with small year-end price discounts for luxury and Japanese brands, and a tightening of the supply side.

The CPCA said a combination of factors led to slightly lower-than-expected but still robust growth in the passenger vehicle market in November. 2.081 million units of passenger vehicles were retailed in November, up 8.0% year-over-year.

The CPCA said the overall market discount rate was about 16.4% at the beginning of the month, down another 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous month. Although many luxury brands are seeking profits at the end of the year, most are still choosing to trade lower prices for greater sales.

According to dealer research, retail targets for major manufacturers increased 11.5 percent year-over-year in December this year, representing a sample size of about 83 percent of the overall market.

In addition, the CPCA said that the research shows that the recent automotive chip supply shortage event has brought less impact on sales, and the impact on the production side is not expected to be transmitted to the sales side in a short time.

On the contrary, it brings a better opportunity to optimize inventory structure, which will also translate into sales strategy to a certain extent and stimulate the sentiment of car purchase at the end of the year, the CPCA said.