The penetration of NEVs in wholesale sales in April was 29.6 percent, up from 25.1 percent in March.

China's wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles in April were 280,000 units, up 50.1 percent year-on-year but down 38.5 percent from March, according to a report released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

This includes 214,000 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and 66,000 PHEVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles), accounting for 76.4 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively.

Wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China from January to April were 1,469,000 units, up 119 percent year on year.

Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China were 282,000 units in April, up 78.4 percent year-on-year and down 36.5 percent from March, the CPCA said.

That includes 213,000 BEVs and 70,000 PHEVs.

From January to April, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China were 1.352 million units, up 128.4 percent from a year earlier.

China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market was unaffected by the price hike and orders were strong before the price hikes, the CPCA said.

Production of both NEVs and traditional fuel vehicles was affected in April, with an increasingly short supply of NEVs leading to serious delays in undelivered orders, according to the CPCA.

In wholesale sales of all vehicles in April, the penetration rate of NEVs was 29.6 percent, up 18 percentage points from the April 2021 penetration rate of 11.2 percent and up from 25.1 percent in March.

In April, the penetration rate of NEVs was 48.8 percent among local brands and 4.8 percent among luxury vehicles, compared to only 3.7 percent among mainstream joint venture brands.

Wholesale sales of pure electric vehicles in April were 214,000 units, up 39.9 percent year-on-year, while plug-in hybrid sales were 66,000 units, up 96.8 percent year-on-year.

Sales of B class EV models fell 29 percent year on year in April, down 73 percent from March, and accounted for 14 percent of the pure EV share, lower than 30 percent in March.

Wholesale sales of A00 class EVs were 78,000 units, with a 37 percent share among pure EVs.

A0 class was 44,000, or 20 percent of EV sales. A class EVs had a 27 percent share.

In April retail sales, the penetration rate of NEVs in China was 27.1 percent, up 17.3 percentage points from the 9.8 percent penetration rate in April 2021.

In April, the penetration of NEVs among local brands was 54.4 percent, luxury vehicles was 5.5 percent, and mainstream joint venture brands was only 3.7 percent.

NEVs exported from China in April were 7,600 units, down from 11,000 units in March and 45,300 units in February.

SAIC' passenger vehicle unit exported 1,300 units of NEVs, Tesla China exported 0 units and Dongfeng eGT exported 3,433 units.

Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën exported 805 units of NEVs, BYD 705 units and Aiways 168 units.

Four companies exceeded 10,000 units in wholesale sales in April, down from 13 in March.

BYD had the highest wholesale sales at 105,475 units. SAIC-GM-Wuling with 30,020 units, Chery with 15,568 units and GAC Aion with 10,212 units.

Tesla China produced 10,757 units in April, with wholesale sales of 1,512 units, the CPCA noted.

Across all models, wholesale sales in China were 946,000 units in April, down 43.0 percent year-on-year and down 47.8 percent from March.

Retail sales of passenger vehicles in China were 1.042 million units in April, down 35.5 percent year-on-year and down 34 percent from March.

Compared with April, when 28 Chinese provinces and cities saw Covid outbreaks, the situation is expected to improve significantly in May, the CPCA said.

Consumer demand that was delayed in March-April will be able to gain some release, facilitating the gradual recovery of retail sales in May.

However, the CPCA also mentioned that there is still a lot of pressure on the auto market to recover, and with the intensification of the epidemic in Beijing and Zhengzhou, sales are estimated to decline in May compared to the same period last year under the current strict epidemic prevention policy.