The CAAM proposes that China's central and local governments continue to introduce policies to promote auto consumption, given the current weak market expectations.

China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales in March were 653,000 units, up 34.8 percent year-on-year and up 24.4 percent from February, according to data released today by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The CAAM released data on wholesale sales by automakers, where NEVs include battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and fuel cell vehicles.

China saw BEV sales of 490,000 units in March, up 23.8 percent year-on-year. PHEV sales were 163,000 units, up 84.3 percent year-on-year. Sales of fuel cell vehicles were 50 units, up 27 percent year-on-year.

Sales of all vehicles in China were 2.451 million units in March, up 9.7 percent year-on-year and up 24 percent from February.

This means that China's NEVs had a penetration rate of 26.6 percent in March, the same as in February.

Production of NEVs in China was 674,000 units in March, up 44.8 percent year-on-year and up 22.1 percent from February.

Production of all vehicles in China was 2,584,000 units in March, up 15.3 percent year-on-year and 27.2 percent from February.

With purchase tax incentives for internal combustion engine vehicles and purchase subsidies for NEVs both expiring at the end of last year, coupled with price cuts since the beginning of the year, China's auto industry faced significant pressure in the first quarter, the CAAM said.

The CAAM proposes that China's central and local governments continue to introduce policies to promote auto consumption, given the current weak market expectations.

In March, exports of vehicles from China were 364,000 units, up 110 percent from a year earlier and up 10.6 percent from February.

Among them, the export volume of NEVs was 78,000 units, up 390 percent year-on-year but down 10.3 percent from February.

In January-March, China's vehicle sales were 6.076 million units, down 6.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the CAAM.

NEVs sold 1.586 million units in January-March, up 26.2 percent year-on-year, with a market share of 26.1 percent.

China's Mar passenger NEV retail up 23.6% MoM to 543,000, CPCA data show