Sales of new cars are on the rise in China as the country slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
In July, new car sales across China jumped by 16.4 per cent compared to the same month in 2019, hitting 2.11 million vehicles. This is also the fourth consecutive month of positive car sales growth in the country, although year-to-date sales are still down 12.7 per cent from last year and currently sit at 12.37 million vehicles, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
The association estimates that auto sales will likely end the year 10 per cent lower compared to 2019. However, if a second wave of the coronavirus hits China, this figure could drop to around 20 per cent.
Read Also: Meet The Cheapest New Electric Car In The USA – China’s Kandi K27
Of particular note in the recovering market was an increase of 19.8 per cent in the sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs). In total, 98,000 such vehicles were sold, ending 12 straight months of declines in the NEV market. CAAM expects sales of roughly 1.1 million NEVs this year, a fall of 11 per cent from 2019, Reuters reports.
“The sales growth shows NEV makers and customers are getting used to the new normal after the government cut subsidies last year,” senior CAAM official Xu Haidong said. Trucks and other commercial vehicles experienced the greatest resurgence in sales, with a 59.4 per cent increase thanks in part to government investments in infrastructure and tougher emission rules that were introduced this year.
Among the companies to report sales growth in July were Great Wall, Geely, and Toyota. Nevertheless, as Haitong International analyst Shi Ji notes, automakers seem to have a high inventory of vehicles, something that could force them to offer higher discounts to customers.
