Decline in light-vehicle sales in China slows down in March; EV sales continue to grow

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data, the drop in China's new light-vehicle sales slowed down slightly in March though it continued to decline. Sales dropped 6.9% to 2.02 million last month after slumping 17% in January and February.

The sales have dropped consecutively for nine months. In March, multipurpose vehicle sales fell 14% to some 151,600 while sedan sales dropped 7.5% to about 949,300. Crossovers and SUVs have registered a drop of 5.8% to around 867,800. Minibus sales increased 14% to about 50,700.

Last month, sales of new commercial vehicles in China including trucks and buses rose 2.4% to about 501,000. From January to March, new light-vehicle sales dropped 14% to below 5.3 million while new commercial-vehicle deliveries increased 2.2% to some 1.1 million.

In sharp contrast to the drop in total market, New Energy Vehicle demand and production continued to rise higher. In March, total electric vehicle deliveries surged 85% to more than 126,000, which included about 96,000 EVs, 30,000 plug-in hybrids and 86 fuel cell vehicles.

In the first three months, NEV sales increased 110% to touch 300,000, including 227,000 EVs, 72,000 plug-in hybrids and 273 fuel cell vehicles.