This was down 18.5 percent from December, which the CPCA said was consistent with the characteristics of the same month last year.

China's wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles were 412,000 units in January, up 141.4 percent year-on-year and down 18.5 percent from December, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said in a report released today.

The January sales decline relative to December is consistent with the January 2021 characteristics, the CPCA said.

This includes 333,000 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) as well as 79,000 PHEVs (plug-in hybrids), accounting for 80.8 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.

Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China rose 132.0 percent to 347,000 units in January, down 27.0 percent from December and close to the 25 percent decline seen in January 2021, the CPCA said. This includes 269,000 BEVs and 77,000 PHEVs.

Late last year, the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) market saw a rush of deliveries, leaving the first 10 days of January with a weak sales performance, the CPCA said, adding that the market showed a significant pickup in the second and third weeks of January.

Wholesale sales of all passenger vehicles in China were 2.172 million units in January, up 6.8 percent year-on-year and down 8.2 percent from December.

Retail sales of passenger vehicles in January were 2.092 million units, down 4.4 percent year-on-year and down 0.6 percent compared to December.

Overall, while China is still seeing the emergence of Covid-19 cases, the relatively mild prevention and control initiatives have not had a significant impact on residential travel and vehicle purchase spending, the CPCA said.

Among wholesale sales in January, the penetration of NEVs was 19 percent, up 10.6 percentage points from 8.4 percent in January 2021, but down from 21.3 percent in December.

In January, NEV penetration among local brands was 32 percent and 22.9 percent for luxury brands, compared to just 2.7 percent for mainstream joint venture brands.

Wholesale sales of pure-play EVs in January were 333,000 units, up 130.4 percent year-on-year, while plug-in hybrid sales were 79,000 units, up 202.1 percent year-on-year.

Wholesale sales of A00-class electric vehicles were 105,000 units, with a 32 percent share of pure electric vehicles.

Class A0 was 51,000, accounting for 15 percent of pure EV sales.

The share of Class A EVs was 22 percent and the share of Class B EVs was 30 percent.

The penetration rate of NEVs in China was 16.6 percent of retail sales in January, up 9.8 percentage points from the 6.8 percent penetration rate in January 2021, but down from 22.6 percent in December.

In January, the penetration rate of NEVs among local brands was 31.4 percent, compared to 10.2 percent for luxury vehicles and only 2.5 percent for mainstream joint venture brands.

NEVs exported from China in January were 52,000 units, well above the less than 8,000 units exported last December.

Tesla exported 40,499 China-made vehicles in January, SAIC Passenger Vehicle exported 4,814 NEVs and Dongfeng eGT exported 4,267 vehicles.

In addition, Geely exported 444 vehicles, Great Wall Motor 408, SAIC Maxus 406 and BYD 313.

There were 11 car companies whose wholesale sales exceeded 10,000 units in January, 6 more than the same month last year.

BYD's wholesale sales in January were 93,101 units, Tesla China with 59,845 units, SAIC-GM-Wuling with 40,007 units, and Chery with 21,179 units.

Other car companies were: Geely with 17,036 units, GAC Aion with 16,031 units, SAIC Passenger Vehicle with 14,414 units, Great Wall Motor with 13,781 units, Xpeng with 12,922 units, Li Auto with 12,268 units, and Neta with 11,009 units.

Tesla China sells 59,845 units in Jan, up 286.5% year-on-year