China's NEV retail penetration is set to exceed 50 percent for the second consecutive month and reach a new record high of 53.2 percent.

In July, China's retail penetration of NEVs was 51.1 percent, the first time it has exceeded 50 percent on a monthly basis, meaning that NEVs surpassed traditional gasoline vehicles in monthly passenger car sales for the first time.

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

The latest survey shows that major automakers, which contribute about 80 percent of passenger car sales, are targeting a 7 percent increase in retail sales in August compared to July, the CPCA said.

According to preliminary projections, August passenger car retail sales are expected to be around 1.84 million units, down 4.4 percent year-on-year but up 7.0 percent from the previous month, according to the CPCA.

For the NEV market, steady growth in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) provided support, while sales of lower-priced pure-play EVs also improved significantly, the CPCA said.

Major automakers averaged daily passenger car retail sales of 41,000 units in the first week of August, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier and up 4.7 percent from the same week a month earlier.

Their average daily retail sales in the second week were 51,000 units, up 9.6 percent year-on-year and up 22.7 percent from the same week last month.

Average daily retail sales in the third week were 55,200 units, up 8.1 percent year-on-year and up 15.8 percent from the same week last month.

Average daily retail sales for the fourth week are expected to be 62,900 units, up 11.2 percent year-on-year and up 6.2 percent from the same period last month.

Average daily retail sales for the fifth week are expected to be 82,100 units, down 27.6 percent year-on-year and down 5.9 percent from the same period last month.

China EV insurance registrations for week ending Aug 18: Nio 3,300, Tesla 14,300, Xiaomi 2,600, BYD 78,500