Retail sales of passenger vehicles in China continued to decline in August 2024, by 1% to 1.92m units, the fifth consecutive month of decline according to the China Passenger Vehicle Association (CPCA).
The vehicle market continued to be affected by sluggish domestic economic growth, as domestic consumption continued to be held back by the ongoing property crisis.
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Overall GDP growth slowed to 4.7% year on year in the second quarter of 2024 from 5.3% in the first. Severe weather and flooding in many parts of the country also affected sales last month, according to local reports.
The Chinese government announced additional vehicle market stimulus measures at the end of July, including doubling the one off CNY10,000 (US$1,400) subsidy introduced in April to CNY20,000 for buyers trading in their old internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles for qualifying new battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The government had previously taken measures to reduce down payment requirements on vehicle loans.
These measures helped lift sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) 43% to 1m units last month, or 53% of total sales, while sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) models continued to decline sharply.
Sales by Chinese domestic brands increased 21% to 1.2m units last month to account for 63% of total domestic passenger vehicle sales, driven by automakers such as BYD, Chery and Geely.
In the first eight months of 2024 domestic retail sales of passenger vehicles increased by 2% to 13,472,000 units, with NEV sales rising by 34% to just over 6.2m units.
The association also reported a 24% increase in passenger vehicle exports to 413,000 units last month, including CKD kits, while YTD volume was up by 30% at 3.04m units.
