Beijing (ZXZC)- China's new energy passenger vehicle (NEPV) market showcased impressive growth in January, with production and wholesale figures soaring year on year. However, month-on-month data reflected downward momentum.

In January, China's production volume of NEPVs surged 85.1% from the previous year to 734,000 units, witnessing a 33.3% dip compared to the previous month. Similarly, wholesale deliveries of NEPVs reached 682,000 units, showing a substantial 76.2% year-on-year spike but experiencing a 38.8% decline month-on-month, according to data by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). 

China's retail sales of NEPVs stood at 668,000 units in January, depicting a 101.8% year-on-year soar but a 29.5% decrease from that of December 2023. Additionally, NEPV exports totaled 95,000 units last month, reflecting a 27.1% increase year-on-year but a 6.9% dip from the previous month.

In terms of market penetration, NEPV manufacturers achieved a wholesale penetration rate of 32.6% in January, up by 5.8 percentage points from January 2023 but down by 8.1 percentage points from December 2023. Notably, China’s indigenous brands’ NEPVs dominated with a penetration rate of 43.8% last month, while luxury and mainstream joint venture brands trailed at 34.5% and 7.2%, respectively.

Song L; photo credit: BYD

Breaking down last month’s wholesales by powertrain solutions, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) led the pack in wholesale volume at 404,000 units, representing a 49.5% year-on-year jump but a 46.5% month-on-month decline. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) followed, with January wholesale figures standing at 188,000 units and 91,000 units, respectively. These indicated that BEVs accounted for 59% of the total NEPVs wholesaled last month, while the figures for PHEVs came in at 28%, and EREVs at 13%.

In the first month of 2024, 20 passenger vehicle models achieved wholesale volumes surpassing 20,000 units each, with BYD's Song leading at 595,514 units, followed by Tesla's Model Y at 41,873 units. 

Photo credit: XPENG

In the domestic retail sector, NEPVs constituted 32.8% of the overall monthly passenger car retail volume in January, reflecting a 7.2 percentage point increase from the previous year but a 7.5 percentage point decline from December. 

Within the segment, Chinese homegrown brands held a dominant NEPV share of 70.3% in January, up 10 percentage points year on year. Meanwhile, joint-venture brands registered a 0.9-percentage-point tick up from a year ago, securing a 4.9% share. Major NEPV forces like Tesla nabbed 6% share in the past month, down 0.9 percentage points from a year ago, while Chinese startup players grabbed a combined 14.8% market share, reflecting a 3.7-percentage-point rise year-on-year.

Moreover, the outlook for NEPV export volume remains promising last month, fueled by China's manufacturing prowess and expanding overseas demand.

Model Y; photo credit: Tesla

In the first month of 2024, exports of China-made NEPVs amounted to roughly 95,000 units, jumping 27.1% year on year and constituting 26.8% of China’s total passenger car exports in the month, with 75% being BEVs. 

Notably, the top five exporters of NEPVs in China were Chery (89,665 units), Changan Auto (38,269 units), and SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle Company (33,716 units), Tesla China (31,566 units), and Geely Auto (27,758 units).