DgcityChinese sales of new energy vehicles hit a monthly record in October, industry data show, powered by an extraordinary surge in exports even as demand at home weakened for the tenth month in a row.
Dealerships and manufacturers sold 1.94 million battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen vehicles last month, up 13 percent from a year earlier and 6 percent from September, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Electric vehicles accounted for 64 percent of new car sales in the month, a sharp jump from 62 percent in September and from just over half a year earlier.
Exports did most of the heavy lifting. Chinese NEV exports topped 600,000 vehicles for the first time, more than doubling from a year earlier, and accounted for nearly a third of all electric vehicles sold by Chinese producers. Battery-electric exports rose roughly 130 percent, while plug-in hybrid shipments jumped about 160 percent as buyers in developing markets snapped up cheaper Chinese models.
The contrast with the domestic market could hardly be starker. NEV sales inside China fell nearly 9 percent in October, according to the industry body, the tenth straight monthly decline as the withdrawal of subsidies and a broader slump in consumer spending weighed on purchases. Overall passenger car retail sales, counting petrol vehicles, were down 27 percent, with combustion-engine sales plunging 45 percent as high oil prices pushed more buyers toward electric models even though the total market shrank.
Industry figures from the passenger car association show BYD leading the export charge, shipping more than 160,000 electric vehicles abroad in October, followed by Chery, Geely and a resurgent Tesla, whose Shanghai factory exported 59,000 cars, about 87 percent of its monthly production. Chinese brands are building assembly plants overseas as well as shipping from home, a move designed to dodge tariffs and political criticism.
The export rush may not last. Industry officials warn that shipments are being pulled forward by Christmas deadlines, expected changes to export tax rebates and looming tariffs in major markets. China’s VAT rebate for NEV exporters will fall from 13 percent to 9 percent in April, a cut expected to hit the cheapest, thinnest-margin models hardest. Growth in Chinese car exports is forecast to slow sharply next year.
Still, the cumulative numbers are striking. Chinese producers have shipped 4.6 million electric vehicles abroad in the first 10 months, up 129 percent, while NEVs made up just over half of total vehicle sales for the year. Even in a shrinking home market, Chinese manufacturers are now the world’s dominant supplier of electric cars, and the gap with rivals continues to widen.
