China’s locally-produced passenger vehicle retail sales edge up 2.5% MoM in Apr. 2023

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- China's passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales amounted to 1.63 million units in Apr. 2023, surging 55.5% from the previous year, while also ticking up 2.5% from the previous month, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

For clarity, the passenger vehicles hereby refer to the cars, SUVs, and MPVs locally produced on the Chinese mainland.

As the spree of the price war in April gradually subsided in Apr., consumers subsequently resumed rational consumption with their wait-and-see mood eased, which unleashed some of the demands suppressed earlier this year, said the CPCA.

The association added the growing demands for travel during the May Day holiday boosted car purchases in April, continuing the stable trend from the end of Mar.

The Auto Shanghai 2023 held last month served as a powerful platform and booster for promoting domestic car consumption. The grand auto show radiated the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions for on-site sales with the media coverage throughout the country. Even after the press days, consumers' enthusiasm for visiting the auto show remained strong, and the release of major vehicle models has also increased the contribution of Chinese car companies from R&D to sales and service to the global auto industry, said the association.

There were around 240,000 luxury PVs retailed across China last month, representing a 101% year-on-year growth, but showing a 13% month-on-month dip. The luxury car market has gradually strengthened as the shortage of high-end cars caused by the chip supply constraints last year has waned.

Chinese indigenous PV brands recorded a combined retail sales volume of roughly 790,000 units in Apr., which was 63% and 1.5% more than that of the year-ago and month-ago periods, respectively.

The CPCA's data show that China's local brands accounted for 48.2% of the country's total PV retail volume last month, 1.7 percentage points higher than the prior-year level.

With about 610,000 PVs delivered in Apr., mainstream joint ventures in China logged a 35% rise from a year earlier, and also posted a 12% growth from the previous month.

Among the top 10 automakers by Apr. PV retail sales in China, BYD still ranked highest, while the fastest-growing one (compared to the year-ago period) was SAIC Volkswagen. Aside from Dongfeng Nissan, the top nine companies all obtained a two-digit year-on-year increase.

China's monthly PV wholesale volume reached 1.788 million units in Apr., shooting up 87.6% over the year-ago period, but sliding 10% compared to the previous month.

China’s local automakers saw their PV wholesales total roughly 1 million units in Apr., which soared 83% from a year earlier, but shrank 5% from a month earlier. In the same period, the PV wholesale volume of mainstreams joint ventures reached around 530,000 units, growing 67% year over year, but dropping 17% month on month.

There were about 260,000 luxury PVs sold across the Chinese mainland last month through wholesale, representing a 186% spike over a year earlier, but indicating a 12% decrease over a month ago.

With regard to the PV wholesale volume in Apr., BYD still outshone other automakers with a volume of around 209,000 units. The top 10 automakers all scored a year-on-year upward movement in Apr. wholesales with Tesla being the fastest-growing one.

As for production performance, China’s locally-produced PV output amounted to 1.759 million units last month, zooming up 77.4% from a year ago, but dwindling 15.7% from a month ago.

According to the data compiled by the CPCA, China's passenger vehicle export volume (including complete vehicles and CKDs) reached roughly 300,000 units in Apr., rocketing 227% from the prior-year period, while also edging up 3% from the previous month.

In the Jan.-Apr. period, China exported a total of 1.08 million passenger vehicles (+115% YoY), 30% of which were contributed by new energy vehicles.