China's Vehicle Inventory Alert Index VIA) stood at 56.1% in February 2022, climbing 3.9 percentage points from the previous year, while dropping 2.2 percentage points from the previous month, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association CADA).

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

The association said the automobile market in China generally trended towards a stable level in February 2022. The vehicle sales growth for the first half of February was somewhat curbed due to fewer workdays, the demands unleashed before the Spring Festival holiday, and the sporadic and cluster COVID-19 cases. Such factors as the Chinese New Year holiday and the prevention and control of the pandemic led to a slowdown in dealer showroom traffic. Besides, consumers' confidence in car shopping was partly affected by the fluctuation of automobile prices.

The CADA added that dealers strengthened its efforts to replenish inventories with automakers rapidly recovering vehicle production and sales after the holiday.

In January 2022, the VIAs of the imported & luxury brands, the mainstream joint-venture brands, and the Chinese indigenous brands reached 54.3%, 56.2%, and 58.9%, dropping 0.9, 1.3, and 0.3 percentage points over a month ago respectively, according to the CADA.