In April, China's auto sales are expected to be 1.171 million units, down 47.6 percent from March and down 48.1 percent year-on-year, the CAAM said today.

People already know that Covid hit China's car sales hard in April, and now an official figure reveals the extent of it.

In April, China's auto sales are expected to be 1.171 million units, down 47.6 percent from March and 48.1 percent year-on-year, the China Association of Automobile Makers (CAAM) said today.

That's based on weekly data submitted by key automakers, the CAAM said.

In the January-April period, China's auto sales are estimated at 7.68 million units, down 12.3 percent from a year earlier, it said.

So far this year, China's auto supply chain has been hit first by the Covid lockdown in Jilin, one of the most important provinces for auto parts supply.

In late March, the lockdown in Shanghai dealt another blow to the industry, causing serious disruptions to auto parts supplies in the city and surrounding cities.

Nio (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) halted production at one point in early April, and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV, HKG: 9868) Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng warned all Chinese car companies that production could be halted in May if the situation doesn't improve.

Data released on May 1 showed that Nio delivered 5,074 units in April, down 49 percent from March. Xpeng delivered 9,002 units, down 42 percent from March, and Li Auto delivered 4,167 units, down 62 percent from March.

Interestingly, BYD's counter-trend growth became an exception as sales of Chinese car companies generally plummeted.

BYD sold 106,042 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in April, up 1 percent from March and 313 percent from the same month last year, according to the company's May 3 announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

This is the second consecutive month that BYD has sold more than 100,000 NEVs after selling 104,878 units in March, another record high.

April deliveries: How does NIO compare to XPeng and Li Auto?