(Yicai Global) April 11 -- China’s passenger car sales are expected to continue sliding this month after falling in March amid new Covid-19 outbreaks, according to an industry association.

This month, sales could be far lower than in March due to the pandemic and the three-day public holiday of Qingming Festival in early April, the China Passenger Car Association predicted today.

In March, retail sales dropped almost 11 percent to 1.6 million from a year earlier, the organization added. But the figure was nearly 26 percent higher than in February.

Not all segments are looking down. The new energy vehicle market is rallying due to electrification and replacements of gas-powered vehicles, according to the CPCA. Electric car sales more than doubled to 445,000 units in March from a year ago. The volume increased by 63 percent from February, posing the largest month-on-month boost ever seen in March.

Wholesale numbers are in line with retail sales. Last month, Chinese manufacturers logged wholesale figures of 1.8 million cars, sliding almost 2 percent from a year ago. The number climbed nearly 24 percent from a month earlier.

Meanwhile, wholesale volumes of electric cars reached 455,000, up 122 percent from a year ago. The number rose nearly 44 percent from February.

Exporting was slowing because of the unstable external environment and carmakers’ reduced exports to Europe. Chinese manufacturers shipped 107,000 passenger cars abroad in March, up 14 percent from a year ago but still 20 percent less than the number recorded in February.

In terms of production, China manufactured 1.8 million passenger cars in March, down 0.3 percent from a year earlier. However, the volume was 22 percent up from a month earlier.

From January to March, China’s retail sales of automobiles fell by nearly 5 percent year on year to 4.9 million, lower than expected, according to the CPCA. 

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi