China's PHEV retail sales hit a record high for the third consecutive month, while BEV retail sales grew again, ending two consecutive months of sequential declines.

Retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China surpassed the 1 million mark in August, as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) continued to grow strongly and sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) recovered.

China's passenger NEVs sold a record 1,027,000 units at retail in August, the first time in history they have exceeded 1 million, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

That was up 43.2 percent from the same period last year and up 17 percent from July, the CPCA said.

The figure is higher than the CPCA's preliminary figure of 1,015,000 units released on September 4, and also higher than the estimate of 980,000 units it released late last month.

A recovery in BEV sales and continued strong growth in PHEV sales drove further growth in NEV sales last month.

BEVs sold 583,000 units at retail in August, accounting for 56.8 percent of all NEV retail sales. This represents an 18.5 percent increase year-on-year and a 20.8 percent increase from July.

In July, retail sales of BEVs in China were 482,000 units, 1.6 percent lower than in June and the second consecutive month of sequential decline.

Retail sales of PHEVs in August amounted to 444,000 units, contributing 43.2 percent of NEV retail sales, up 96.9 percent year-on-year and up 12.2 percent from July.

That was the third consecutive month of record high PHEV sales in China.

China's all passenger vehicles, including sedans, SUVs and MPVs, retailed 1,905,000 units in August, down 1 percent year-on-year while up 10.8 percent from July.

China's NEV penetration at retail was a record 53.9 percent in August, the second consecutive month above the 50 percent mark.

The penetration rate was up 16.6 percentage points from 37.3 percent a year ago and up 2.8 percentage points from 51.1 percent in July.

Penetration of NEVs of local brands at retail was 75.9 percent in August, compared with 33.5 percent for luxury brands and 8 percent for mainstream JV brands, according to CPCA.

Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs in China totaled 1,052,000 units in August, up 31.7 percent year-on-year and up 11.4 percent from July.

That was the second highest on record, after the 1,114,804 units sold in December last year.

NEV penetration at wholesale hit a record 48.9 percent in August, up 13.3 percentage points from 35.6 percent a year earlier and 0.8 percentage points from 48.1 percent in July.

Penetration of local Chinese NEVs in August was 63 percent at wholesale, compared to 43.2 percent for luxury brands and 7.8 percent for mainstream JV brands.

Passenger NEVs exported from China amounted to 99,000 units in August, up 23.7 percent year-on-year and up 7.6 percent from July, contributing 24 percent of passenger car exports.

BEVs contributed 80.8 percent of August's NEV exports, with exports of class A0 and A00 BEVs accounting for 41 percent of NEV exports, according to the CPCA.

China EV insurance registrations for week ending Sept 1: Nio 6,000, Tesla 14,400, Xiaomi 2,900, BYD 88,800