Excluding exports, domestic NEV sales were 856,000 units in May, up 40.8 percent year-on-year and up 16.3 percent from April.

China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales rebounded in May, after seeing an unexpected decline in April.

China sold 955,000 NEVs in May, up 33.3 percent year-on-year and up 12.4 percent from April, according to data released today by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

CAAM's NEV sales are the wholesale sales of automakers, including sales in China and exports to overseas markets. NEVs include battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and fuel cell vehicles.

China sold 583,000 BEVs in May, up 12.5 percent year-on-year and up 12.3 percent from April.

PHEV sales in May were a record 371,000 units, up 87.7 percent year-on-year and up 12.1 percent from April.

Fuel cell vehicle sales in May were 400 units, up 5.2 percent.

China's all vehicle sales in May were 2,417,000 units, up 1.5 percent year-on-year and up 2.5 percent from April.

This means that NEV penetration was a record 39.5 percent in May, up from 36.0 percent in April.

Excluding exports, domestic NEV sales in May were 856,000 units, up 40.8 percent year-on-year and up 16.3 percent from April.

In May, 481,000 vehicles were exported from China, up 23.9 percent year-on-year but 4.4 percent lower than in April.

Of these, NEV exports were 99,000 units, 9 percent lower year-on-year and 13.3 percent lower than in April.

BEVs exported 77,000 units in May, down 22.3 percent year-on-year and 13.8 percent lower from April.

PHEVs exported 22,000 units in May, up 130 percent year-on-year but down 11.6 percent from April.

Automakers' share of China NEV market in May: BYD tops with 33.4%, Tesla 3rd with 6.9%