This means that the penetration of passenger NEVs at retail was 32.8 percent in January, down from 40.2 percent in December.

China's passenger new energy vehicles (NEVs) sold 670,000 units at retail in January, up 102 percent year-on-year but down 29 percent from December, preliminary data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.

In its January 19 report, the CPCA had forecast retail sales of 800,000 NEVs in January, and the lower preliminary figure means that China's retail sales of NEVs at the end of January were worse than expected.

China's retail sales of all passenger vehicles were 2.04 million units in January, up 58 percent year-on-year but down 13 percent from December.

This means that passenger NEV penetration at retail was 32.8 percent in January, down from 40.2 percent in December.

Wholesale sales of Chinese passenger NEVs in January were 690,000 units, up 77 percent year-on-year but down 38 percent from December.

China's passenger car wholesale sales in January were 2.08 million units, up 44 percent year-on-year but down 23 percent from December.

Earlier today, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released data showing that China's wholesale sales of NEVs, including passenger cars and commercial vehicles, were 729,000 units in January, down 39 percent from December.

Here's the weekly retail performance of China's passenger car market in January, as announced today by the CPCA:

In the first week of January -- January 1-7 -- average daily retail sales of passenger cars in China were 54,012, up 21 percent year-on-year and up 14 percent from the same period in December.

In the second week of January -- January 8-14 -- average daily retail sales of passenger cars in China were 58,513, up 15 percent year-on-year and unchanged from the same period in December.

In the third week of January -- January 15-21 -- average daily retail sales of passenger cars in China were 62,827, up 155 percent year-on-year but 18 percent lower than in December.

In the fourth week of January -- January 22-28 -- average daily retail sales of passenger cars in China were 68,599, up 136 percent year-on-year but 34 percent lower than in December.

In the fifth week of January -- January 29-31 -- average daily retail sales of passenger cars in China were 110,803, up 34 percent year-on-year but 6 percent lower than in December.

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