CBN丨China's car sales up 4.7% in Sept with strong NEV sales and exports

Car sales in China increased 4.7 percent in September from the same month a year ago, official data showed, boosted by more people buying discounted and new models ahead of key holidays.

Passenger vehicle sales totaled 2.04 million units in September, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Wednesday. The year-on-year rate of increase was higher than the 2.2 percent year-on-year rise in August, the data showed.

New energy vehicle (NEV) sales surged 22.1 percent in September from a year earlier, making up 36.6 percent of total car sales, and helping several local brands set record high sales. However, the growth slowed from a 34.5 percent jump in August.

Chinese EV forerunner BYD sold a record 287,454 NEVs in September. EV startup Li Auto also set a new monthly record with 36,060 vehicles delivered last month, a surge of 212.7 percent year-on-year.

September is traditionally a bumper month for car sales in China, partly because many people go on a shopping spree ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays.

For the first nine months, sales in the world’s largest car market rose 2.1 percent to 15.41 million units.

Overseas markets remain an important growth area, as exports grew 50 percent in September year-on-year following a 31 percent gain in August, the data showed.

NEV exports more than doubled compared with the same month last year, totaling 91,000 units, accounting for 25.4 percent of the country's total passenger car exports. Among them, Tesla exported 30,566 China-made vehicles in September, up 57 percent from August, while BYD’s overseas shipments stood at 28,039.

Meanwhile, the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR), China's newly integrated financial regulator, on Tuesday issued a document outlining measures to support the recovery in consumption, including boosting the auto market and lowering the cost of consumer finance.

The document highlighted policy support to further activate the domestic auto market, including optimizing and simplifying auto loan procedures, increasing the supply of financial services in the auto sector and granting more support in the NEV sector.