Retail sales of passenger vehicles in China rose by 2% year-on-year to 2.06 million units in September 2024, according to preliminary data released by the China Passenger Vehicle Association (CPCA).

This follows five consecutive months of decline, reflecting weak economic growth as domestic consumption continued to be held back by the ongoing property crisis in the country. Overall GDP growth slowed to 4.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024 from 5.3% in the first quarter.

Retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), comprising electric mainly plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, jumped by 51% year-on-year to 1.12 million units in September, driven by stimulus measures introduced this year by the Chinese government.

At the end of July the government doubled the one-off subsidy it introduced in April to CNY20,000 (US$2,800) for buyers trading in their old internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles for qualifying new battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The government had previously also taken measures to push the struggling banking sector to reduce downpayment requirements on vehicle loans.

In the first eight months of 2024 domestic retail sales of passenger vehicles increased by 2% to 15.5 million units, with NEV sales rising by 37% to 7.13 million units.