Retail sales of passenger vehicles in China, including sedans, MPVs and SUVs, rose by 14% to 1.96 million units in May 2025 from 1.72 million units a year earlier, according to data compiled by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
This was the fourth consecutive month of growth for the market, with consumers continuing to respond to increased government incentives and strong price competition, particularly among domestic manufacturers. Compared with April, the market last month was up by over 10%.
Passenger new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales rose by 28% year-on-year to 1.02 million units last month, including a 23% rise in battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales to 607,000 units and a 35% rise in plug-in hybrid sales to 414,000 units.
In the first five months of 2025 passenger vehicle retail sales in the country rose by over 10% to 8.93 million units from 8.07 million in the same period last year, driven by higher demand for sedans and SUVs, while MPV sales were slightly weaker.
NEV retail sales in the first five months of the year increased by 34% to 4.345 million units, equivalent to almost 49% of total passenger vehicle sales. A significant proportion of new vehicle purchases so far this year has been made using the government’s trade-in/scrappage programme, which offers higher benefits for purchases of NEVs compared with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
