China's homegrown PV retail sales inch up 1.1% YoY in May 2021

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- In May 2021, around 1.655 million locally-produced PVs (referring to cars, MPVs, SUVs and minibuses) were handed over to consumers in China, representing a year-on-year growth of 1.1% and a month-on-month increase of 0.8%, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The CPCA said the market launch of new vehicle models before and during the Auto Shanghai 2021 and the May Day Holiday contributed to the PV delivery growth in May. Besides, the retail sales were also driven by multiple sales promotion activities co-launched by China’s Ministry of Commerce and local governments.

Besides, the sporadic resurgence of COVID-19 cases in cities like Guangzhou and the intensified measures for epidemic prevention and control made consumers pay more attention to travelling and social contact safety, indirectly boosting China's PV deliveries as well.

For the first five months of 2021, the deliveries of China's domestically built PVs amounted to 8.517 million units, jumping 38.1% from a year earlier. The robust increase was credited to the low base for the year-ago period and the increasing contribution from new energy vehicle (NEV) business, said the CPCA.

The association's data show that around 776,000 consumers in China taking delivery of NEVs during the Jan.-May period, representing a hike of 235.7% from a year ago.

In May, the deliveries of China-made luxury vehicles reached around 260,000 units, rising 13% from the previous year, while shooting up 45% compared to May 2019. The blooming upward movement reflected the robust demands of replacing old cars with premium ones.

The retail sales of Chinese indigenous PV brands amounted to about 600,000 units, up 18% from the prior-year period, while also growing 3% month over month. Such brands as Changan, Hongqi, Chery and GAC Aion all gained high year-on-year growth thanks to their strenuous efforts made to overcome the chip shortage, and to strengthen product, marketing and service quality.

Besides, the mainstream joint-venture brands saw their PV retail sales reach around 780,000 units, rising 3% year on year, while declining 1% compared to May 2019.

In terms of PV deliveries for May, the top three automakers were FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, and SAIC Volkswagen, remaining the same as that of the April. They were also the only three whose May delivery volume exceeded 100,000 units.

Compared to the previous month, SGMW moved up two spots to the fourth place, while both Dongfeng Nissan and Changan Auto dropped one spot to the fifth and the sixth respectively. Among the top 10 carmakers, Changan Auto and Geely Auto were the only two China's self-owned firms.

As for wholesale performance, China's automakers sold 1.639 million locally-produced PVs in May, representing a year-on-year drop of 2.1%. Year-to-date PV wholesales jumped 38.4% to 8.41 million units.

FAW-Volkswagen was also the champion among automakers in China in terms of May PV wholesales. Among the top 10, Geely Auto, Changan Auto, and Great Wall Motor were China's self-owned carmakers, ranking third, fourth, and ninth respectively. Compared to April 2021, SGMW and Dongfeng Nissan still hold the fifth and the sixth places. Moreover, SAIC-GM and FAW-Toyota re-entered the top 10 list.