China's auto production, sales reach all-time highs in Nov. 2024

Beijing (Gasgoo)- In November 2024, China's automotive market maintained its momentum, driven by the continued effectiveness of the vehicle trade-in policies, which further unleashed car purchasing demand.

In the past month, China auto production and sales both recorded month-on-month and year-on-year growth, reaching historical highs, according to data provided by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). The country's passenger vehicle market remained robust, while the commercial vehicle segment showed relatively weaker performance. Meanwhile, new energy vehicles (NEVs) continued their rapid growth, providing strong support to the market.  

With the cumulative effects of supportive policies becoming increasingly evident, combined with intensified promotional efforts by local governments and enterprises, as well as the end-of-year sales push, the automotive market is expected to maintain its positive trajectory in December. China's annual vehicle production and sales are forecasted to remain above the 30-million-unit mark.

On December 9, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened to discuss economic strategies for 2025, signaling a continued supportive policy environment for the coming year. This favorable outlook is expected to sustain healthy growth in the automotive industry. The extension of automotive consumption policies into next year and early implementation will further bolster the development of the auto market.

In November 2024, there were 3.437 million vehicles produced in China, representing a 14.7% month-on-month increase and a 11.1% year-on-year growth. In the same period, China's auto sales stood at 3.316 million vehicles, which climbed up 8.6% from the previous month and 11.7% from the previous year. Both auto production and sales reach record-high in the past month.

Notably, monthly output and sales of passenger vehicles both exceeded the 3-million-unit mark for the first time, which reached 3.109 million and 3.001 million units, respectively.

In the first eleven months of this year, China's auto production and sales amounted to 27.903 million and 27.94 million vehicles, respectively, indicating a respective 2.9% and 3.7% uptick from year-ago period.

In November, China's NEV production and sales hit new highs again. To be specific, the country's NEV production reached 1.566 million units, surging 45.8% year over year. Meanwhile, sales of NEVs stood at 1.512 million units, zooming up 47.4% from the year-ago period. NEVs accounted for 45.6% of China's total vehicle sales in the past month.

Domestic NEV sales amounted to 1.429 million units in November, up 9.7% month-on-month and 53.8% year-on-year. In the meantime, NEV exports totaled 83,000 units, down 35.2% and 14.1% from the month-ago and year-ago period, respectively.

It is noteworthy that NEVs have continuously made up over half of China's domestic auto sales for four consecutive months by November.

Song L; photo credit: BYD

In the Jan.-Nov. period, automakers in China produced and sold 11.345 million and 11.262 million NEVs in total, which hiked 34.6% and 35.6% year over year. NEVs constituted 40.3% of the country's year-to-date auto sales.

Around 10.121 million NEVs sold in the Jan.-Nov. period were consumed domestically, leaping 40.3% year on year. In the meantime, the country's NEV exports summed up to 11.41 million units, indicating a 4.5% year-over-year spike.

Courage; photo credit: VOYAH

Regarding Chinese automakers' performance overseas, a total of 490,000 vehicles were exported in November, indicating a 9.5% month-on-month dip but a 1.6% year-on-year rise. Passenger cars accounted for 419,000 units of the monthly volume, which dropped 9.9% from the previous month but grew 3.2% from the previous year.

In the first eleven months of this year, automakers in China shipped 5.345 million vehicles to overseas markets collectively, which jumped 21.2% year over year. Among which, 4.52 million units were passenger cars, representing a 21.5% increase compared to the same period last year.

Among the top ten auto exporters in China during the past month, Chery led the pack with 105,000 vehicles shipped, which demonstrated a 10.5% year-on-year growth and accounted for 21.4% of the country's total monthly exports. On the other hand, Yueda Kia, the joint venture of South Korean automaker Kia in China, scored the biggest growth (+52.4% YoY) with 17,000 vehicles exported overseas.