Shanghai (ZXZC)- China's vehicle inventory alert index (VIA), which reflects the inventory pressure on automobile dealers, dropped 7.1 percentage points month on month in Dec. 2022, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).

The VIA stood at 58.2% last month, rising 2.1 percentage points from the previous year.

The index in Dec. was still above the official warning threshold (50%).

In Dec. 2022, the car shopping demands were being steadily unleashed partly due to the governmental subsidies on new energy vehicles (NEVs) and the reduction of oil-fueled vehicle purchase taxes set to expire at the end of 2022, and the forthcoming Spring Festival holiday, said the CADA.

The association also noted that China's automobile sales in Dec. 2022 are expected to leap 40% over the previous month as automakers and car dealers strived to sell as many vehicles as possible in the year-end spurt. The monthly passenger vehicle retail sales in the country may reach around 2.3 million units last month.

In Dec. 2022, the VIAs of imported & luxury brands and mainstream joint-venture brands stood at 62.3% and 54.9%, dropping 4.9 and 18 percentage points over a month ago, respectively. Nevertheless, Chinese indigenous brands saw its monthly index edge up 0.3 percentage points from Nov. to 62.1%.