China's overall passenger vehicle retail sales in May is expected to be around 1.65 million units, down 5.3 percent year-on-year, the CPCA said.

China's new energy-vehicle (NEV) market is expected to see a rebound in May, after a weak start to the year.

In May, retail sales of passenger NEVs in China are expected to be around 770,000 units, up 32.8 percent year-on-year and up 13.7 percent from April, according to estimates released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The NEV penetration rate in May is expected to be 46.6 percent, which is poised to be a new high, the CPCA said.

The CPCA is expected to release preliminary figures for May NEV sales early next month and final figures in the middle of next month.

Survey shows that major automakers, which contribute about 80 percent of passenger car sales, have lowered their retail targets by about 5 percent in May compared with the same month last year.

Based on preliminary projections, retail sales of passenger cars in May are expected to be around 1.65 million units or about 5.3 percent lower year-on-year, the CPCA said.

Market sentiment in the first half of May was significantly lower than the same period in previous years, and automakers increased promotions, according to the CPCA.

The overall discount rate in China's passenger car market stood at 22.2 percent in mid-May, with prices still sinking compared to late April, the CPCA said.

As a comparison, the NEV market was relatively robust, CPCA noted.

Major automakers averaged 46,600 daily passenger car retail sales in the first week of May, down 8.8 percent year-on-year while up 27.6 percent from the same period in April.

Average daily retail sales for the second week were 48,600 units, up 7.4 percent year-on-year and up 2.2 percent from the same week last month.

Average daily retail sales in the third week are expected to be 53,800, a decrease of 20.4 percent year-on-year and an increase of 9 percent from the same period last month.

Average daily retail sales for the fourth week are expected to be 74,700 units, a decrease of 1 percent year-on-year and a decrease of 17.1 percent from the same period last month.

China EV insurance registrations for week ending May 19: Nio 4,400, Tesla 13,900, BYD 53,600, Xiaomi 2,000