China's auto sales recover in June with 23.8% YoY jump

Beijing (Gasgoo)- A slew of government policies and campaigns to boost vehicle consumption have worked effectively, as vehicle sales have witnessed substantial growth in the sixth month of 2022 in China, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

In the first half of 2022, the Chinese auto industry achieved a continuous increase in the production and sales of new energy vehicles. The two volumes of passenger vehicles were also higher than the same period in 2021. In addition, the automobile export volume of the country sustained a relatively quick growth in the time span. 

In June, the country produced and sold 2.499 million vehicles and 2.502 million vehicles, respectively, representing a month-over-month jump of 29.7% and 34.4% each. Compared to the previous year, the production and sales volume still rose 28.2% and 23.8%. 

In the first six months of 2022, there were 12.117 million vehicles produced in the country, down 3.7% year over year. In the meantime, the year-to-date sales volume of China notched down 6.6% from a year ago to 12.057 million vehicles. 

In the past month, China’s automobile export volume hit a new high. There were 249,000 vehicles shipped overseas by automakers in China, with 198,000 passenger vehicles (+65.6% YoY), and 51,000 commercial vehicles (32.4% YoY). The total volume edged up 1.8% from May and surged 57.4% from 2021.

China’s cumulative automobile export volume in the past six months summed up to 1.218 million vehicles, zooming up 47.1% year over year, 202,000 units of which were new energy vehicles, representing a soar of 130% from the previous year.  

With 2.239 million vehicles sold, China’s passenger vehicle market saw a year-on-year sales growth of 41.2% in June, exceeding the CAAM’s expectations. In the first six months of the year, China’s consumers bought a total of 10.355 million passenger vehicles, up 3.4% from the year-ago period. The CAAM said that China’s continuous sales slump had ended by the end of June, and the market has recovered to its typical level.

Notably, China-branded passenger vehicles have grasped a larger market share in the past month, with 994,000 vehicles sold, accounting for 44.8% of the total monthly passenger vehicle sales in China, up 0.6 percentage points year on year. In the first half of 2022, cumulative sales of China-branded passenger vehicles summed up to 4.891 million units, growing 16.5% from the year-ago period. The cumulative sales volume accounted for almost half of China’s total passenger vehicle sales at 47.2%, climbing up 5.3 percentage points compared to the earlier year.  

On the other hand, without direct promotions to boost consumption, China’s commercial vehicle sales failed to see evident recovery in June sales (281,000 vehicles, -37.4% YoY). In the past six months of the year, there were 1.702 million commercial vehicles sold in China, declining 41.2% compare to 2021.

As to new energy vehicle (NEV) segment, there were 596,000 NEVs sold in June in China, soaring 130% from a year earlier. According to the association, the country’s NEV sales and production both reached new highs in the past month. In the first half of 2022, NEV sales in the country reached 2.6 million units, 1.2 times higher than a year ago, with a 21.6% market share. 24% of the passenger vehicles sold in the period were NEVs. Specifically, NEVs accounted for 39.8% of the total sales of China-branded passenger vehicles in the past six months.

In conclusion, the CAAM lowered its previous predictions of China’s 2022 annual auto sales made in the end of 2021. The association is optimistic that the overall sales volume will reach 27 million units in the year, up 3% from a year ago. The numbers were previously set at 27.5 million vehicles with a 5.4% year-on-year increase. Sales of passenger vehicles should be around 23 million units, representing a 7% year-on-year increase. In the meantime, sales of commercial vehicles are expected to see a 16% decline from 2021 to 4 million units. With a approximate number of 5.5 million units, the country’s overall new energy vehicle sales should witness a year-over-year hike of 56% or higher.