Shanghai (ZXZC)- In February, the wholesale volume of locally-produced PVs (referring to cars, MPVs, SUVs and minibus) amounted to 1.147 million units, rocketing 406.6% from the year-ago period when many factories and dealerships were shut due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

As of Feb. 2021, China has seen its monthly PV wholesales grow year over year for the tenth straight month. 

Compared to the previous month, the country saw its PV wholesales in Feb. plunge 43.8% as the Chinese New Year holiday fell in the middle of the month.

For the first two months, China's PV wholesales surged 72.8% year on year to 3.187 million units as the pandemic also led to a low base in year-to-date volume.

Last month, the car, SUV, MPV and minibus segments all scored remarkable growth over a year earlier. With a growth of up to 450.3%, the car segment was the fastest-growing one.

Changan CS75 SUV becomes hottest-selling PV model

Among the top 10 PV models by Feb. wholesales, there were 7 cars and 3 SUVs. The most noteworthy feature of the list was that the best-selling one was a SUV, namely the CS75. The phenomenon was so rare because the champion place had been long occupied by car models. 

The runner-up was also a SUV. The Haval H6 had its ranking unchanged compared to Jan. 2021. Besides, the CR-V moved up to the ninth place last month.

Hongguang MINIEV; photo credit: SAIC-GM-Wuling

The third to the eighth and the tenth places were all possessed by car models. The Hongguang MINIEV was still the only one that entered the top 10 list with only pure electric vehicles (BEVs) for sale.

Model 3 re-enters list of top 10 car models by Feb. wholesales

In Feb., China's car wholesales amounted to 526 million units (+450.3% YoY), resulting in a year-to-date volume of 1.501 million units (+79.4%).

Compared to the year-ago period when the country was at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, most car models posted substantial growth.

Among the top 10 car models by Feb. wholesales, the Corolla, the Sagitar, the Eado and the Levin all score year-on-year growth of over 500%. Notably, the growth in the Levin's sales stood at up to 2,729.2%.

Model 3; photo credit: Tesla

The hottest-selling car was still the Sylphy. The Model 3 moved up to the ninth place, while it was still outperformed by the Hongguang MINIEV.

Compared to Jan. 2021, the Excelle, the Corolla and the Bora climbed six, three and one spots respectively to the second to fourth places.

Although the Lavida dropped 8 places to the tenth, it was the No.1 car model in terms of Feb. retail sales.

CS75 outperforms Haval H6 to top SUV list by Feb. wholesales.

Last month, automakers in China sold around 563,000 locally-produced SUVs, representing a year-on-year hike of 399.7%, according to the CPCA. The year-to-date SUV wholesales were up by 71% to 1.529 million units.

Changan Automobile's CS75 overtook the Haval H6 as the No.1 SUV model by Feb. wholesales. The sales of the CS75 series were continuously rising after the roll-out of the CS75 PLUS.

Among the top 10 SUV models by Feb. wholesales, there were two luxury models, namely the Audi Q5L and the BMW X3, which ranked fifth and sixth respectively.

BMW X3; photo credit: BMW China

Compared to the previous month, the BMW X3, the Binyue and the Oshan X5 were all newcomers to the top 10 SUV list.

Apart from the champion and the runner-up, the sales of other models were rather close. Notably, the sales of the sixth to eighth models all stood in the range of 10,000 to 11,000 units.