China's NEV Sales More Than Tripled in March, Could Reach 2 Million This Year, Industry Body Says
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Apr 09 2021
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
China's NEV Sales More Than Tripled in March, Could Reach 2 Million This Year, Industry Body Says China's NEV Sales More Than Tripled in March, Could Reach 2 Million This Year, Industry Body Says

(Yicai Global) April 9 -- China sold 185,000 new energy vehicles in March, more than three times than it did the same period last year, and is expected to shift two million units over the course of the year, according to a recent report.

Leader of the pack was the tiny two-door, four-seater Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, which outstripped heavyweights the US’ Tesla and compatriot BYD, according to a report released by the China Passenger Car Association today.

Some 40,084 units of the budget electric car, manufactured by SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, a joint venture between Shanghai’s SAIC Motors, the US’s General Motors and Liuzhou, Guangxi province-based Wuling Motors, changed hands, setting a monthly record for the marque.

Tesla China and Shenzhen-based BYD, by comparison, shifted 35,478 and 23,906 vehicles respectively. NEV startups including Nio, Li Auto, WM Motor and XPeng also performed well, the report said. SAIC Motor and GAC Group did the best out of conventional carmakers.

Passenger car sales for March surged 67.2 percent from the same period last year to 1.75 million units helped by the surge in NEV sales and also due to the low baseline last year when the Covid-19 pandemic hampered sales.

For the first quarter, passenger car sales rocketed 68.8 percent, the fastest pace since the CPCA began tracking data in 2005, to tally 5.1 million units.

Market prices stayed stable in the first quarter despite the chip shortage, the report said. However, the continuing dearth of semiconductors, made worse by a recent fire at Japanese chipmaker Renasas Electronics’ factory in March, casts a cloud over April’s sales figures, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   NEV,Car Sales