China’s annual auto output, sales both hit record high at over 30 million units in 2023

In the year 2023, China’s cumulative automobile production and sales volumes reached a respective 30.161 million units and 30.094 million units, marking a year-on-year growth of 11.6% and 12%, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). This historic achievement in production and sales also represent an all-time high in the world’s largest auto market.

Throughout the year, China’s passenger car market has sustained a positive growth trend, playing a crucial role in stabilizing the foundational support for automotive consumption. The commercial vehicle market has witnessed a stable recovery, with production and sales returning to the 4-million-unit level. New energy vehicles (NEVs) continued their rapid ascent, surpassing 9 million units in both annual production and sales, claiming a market share exceeding 30% in 2023. China’s NEV industry has become a pivotal force leading the global automotive industry transformation. 

In December 2023 alone, there were 3.079 million vehicles produced in China, dipping 0.5% from the previous month but jumping 29.2% over the previous year. Meanwhile, automakers in China achieved monthly sales of 3.156 million vehicles, which rose 6.3% month on month and hiked 23.5% year over year.

Photo credit: XPeng

In recent years, China’s NEV industry witnessed rapid growth. With the boost of national policies and market demand, the Chinese NEV market sustained a blooming record in the year 2023. 

Specifically, there were 9.587 million and 9.495 million NEVs produced and sold by automakers in China during the past year, surging 35.8% and 37.9% year over year, respectively. NEVs accounted for 31.6% of the total auto sales of the country in 2023, up 5.9 percentage points compared to that of the previous year. Especially in the passenger car segment, NEVs made up 34.7% of the total annual passenger car sales.

In December 2023, automakers in China produced and sold 1.172 million and 1.191 million NEVs, which each shot up 47.5% and 46.4% from the previous year. NEVs nabbed a 37.7% share of the country's total auto sales last month.

Of the NEVs sold in the last month, about 1.08 million units were sold domestically in China, representing a 16.2% increase month-on-month and a 47.5% leap year-over-year. In 2023, approximately 8.292 million NEVs were consumed in China, marking a 33.5% growth from a year ago.

In the last month of 2023, automakers in China shipped 499,000 vehicles to overseas markets, which ticked up 3.5% from the previous month and surged 54.3% from the previous year. Among which, around 111,000 units were NEVs, representing a 15.2% month-on-month increase and a 36.5% year-on-year jump.

Throughout the year, there were 4.91 million vehicles sold outside of China, spiking 57.9% from the year-ago period. NEV accounted for roughly 14.51% of the annual export volume, which came in at about 1.203 million units, soaring 77.6% year on year.

In December 2023, SAIC Motor continue to lead in overseas performance with a monthly export volume of approximately 129,000 vehicles, marking an 5.7% year-on-year rise and making up 25.9% of the country’s total export volume in the month. In the meantime, BAIC Group realized the most prominent growth surge in export volume from the same period last year, which reached around 28,000 vehicles, 3.2 times higher than that of a year ago.

In the entire year of 2023, SAIC Motor successfully shipped over one million vehicles overseas, maintaining its unshakable position among automakers in China. The NEV giant BYD witnessed a yearly export volume 3.3 times higher than that the previous year, which came in at around 252,000 units.

As the nation consistently promotes policies aimed at boosting car consumption and ensuring stable growth, the implementation of a series of measures to facilitate the high-quality development of China’s NEV industry, including the extension of vehicle purchase tax exemptions and the expansion of initiatives such as promoting NEVs and infrastructure to rural areas, will further ignite market vitality and consumer potential. It is anticipated that in 2024, the Chinese automotive market will continue to maintain a stable and positive development trend, exhibiting a growth rate exceeding 3%.