China car sales drop 24 percent in September as exports prop up EVs
Passenger car sales in China fell 24 percent in September, according to the CPCA industry group. Wholesale volumes of EVs and plug-in hybrids still hit a high for the year.
Symbolic image · Photo: Ein Dahmer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
China's car market remains under pressure. Retail passenger car sales fell to 1.702 million in September, down 24 percent from a year earlier but up 10 percent from August, according to preliminary data from the China Passenger Car Association reported by CnEVPost on Oct. 10. Sales from January through September totaled 13.42 million vehicles, down 21 percent.
Retail sales of battery-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, known as new energy vehicles, fell 12 percent to 1.141 million, lifting their market share to 67.1 percent. Wholesale volumes, which include exports, reached 1.672 million, the highest monthly total this year. BYD was the largest manufacturer with 456,713 EVs and plug-in hybrids wholesale, the preliminary data show.
Wholesale volumes of gasoline cars plunged 41 percent. Exports were the main support, the CPCA said, as high oil prices abroad persisted longer than expected. At home, automakers are competing for existing demand, the association said, and dealers face mounting pressure despite low inventories.