China's NEV penetration at retail was 32.8 percent in January, down 7.5 percentage points from 40.3 percent in December.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) accounted for 291,000 units of retail sales in January, contributing 43.6 percent of all NEV retail sales, up 146.92 percent year-on-year but down 16.14 percent from December.

China's passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs and MPVs, retailed at 2,035,000 units in January, up 57.4 percent year-on-year but down 13.9 percent from December.

China's NEV penetration at retail was 32.8 percent in January, up 7.2 percentage points from 25.6 percent a year earlier, but down 7.5 percentage points from 40.3 percent in December, the CPCA said.

Penetration of NEVs of local brands at retail in January was 51.8 percent, compared with 22.3 percent for luxury brands , and 5.1 percent for mainstream joint venture brands, according to the CPCA.

Wholesale sales of China's passenger NEVs were 682,000 units in January, up 76.2 percent year-on-year, but down 38.8 percent from December.

NEV penetration on wholesale in January was 32.6 percent, up 5.8 percentage points from 26.8 percent a year earlier, but down 8.1 percentage points from 40.7 percent in December.

Penetration of local Chinese NEVs in January was 43.8 percent, compared to 34.5 percent for luxury brands and 7.2 percent for mainstream JVs.

China's passenger NEV exported 95,000 units in January, up 27.1 percent year-on-year but down 6.9 percent from December, contributing 26.8 percent of passenger car exports.

BEVs contributed 75 percent of China's NEV exports in January, according to the CPCA.

Some of the demand in China's auto market was overdrawn in December, which had an impact on January's sales, the CPCA said.

In addition, there was a rebound in the prices of some models and a decrease in promotion activities by local governments, which was detrimental to January's sales performance, the CPCA said.

China sells 729,000 NEVs in Jan, 39% lower than Dec, CAAM data show