(Yicai) Jan. 11 -- Car sales in China could increase 3 percent to more than 31 million this year, setting another record high, according to a report by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Sales will be spurred by the growing popularity of new energy vehicles as well as auto exports, the report said today.

NEV sales could reach 11.5 million, the CAAM predicted, up 21 percent from last year, while exports of the vehicles could reach 5.5 million, a 12 percent gain.

China’s auto production and sales both topped 30 million for the first time last year, with 30.2 million vehicles manufactured and about 30.1 million sold, notching up increases of 11.6 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Domestic market sales rose 6 percent to about 25.2 million vehicles last year, after hovering above 20 million for nine consecutive years.

Some 4.91 million vehicles were also exported in 2023, a 58 percent surge, meaning that China pushed Japan aside as the world’s biggest car exporter. China exports vehicles to more than 200 countries and regions. 

In 2023, the country’s NEV sales rose 38 percent to 9.5 million, with a market share of 31.6 percent, 5.9 percentage points higher than in the same period of 2022. And about 1.2 million NEVs were exported, up 78 percent.

China has been the world’s largest single auto market for 15 straight years, and analysts have said that the country’s fast-growing NEV sector has become an important pillar supporting the global transformation of the auto market.

Editor: Tom Litting