Chinese car sales rise in September as electric vehicles surge

Chinese sales of passenger vehicles rose in September to reverse five months of declines as consumer sentiment improved and the government enacted stimulus policies.

Retail sales of passenger vehicles advanced 4.5% from the prior year to 2.1 million units, the highest monthly figure this year, according to a report from the China Passenger Car Association on Saturday.

A national cash-for-clunkers program, local government policies that urged trade-ins of old vehicles and the seasonal effect of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays contributed to growth during the month, the CPCA said.

New-energy vehicles, a category that includes electric cars and plug-in hybrids, outsold internal-combustion-engine cars for three straight months. Penetration of EVs reached 53.3% in September, the association said.

NEV monthly sales hit 1.1 million in September, exceeding the 1 million mark for two consecutive months.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) sales jumped 66% from a year earlier, helping to lift its share in the NEV market to 6.4%, up 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier. BYD (OTCPK:BYDDF) (OTCPK:BYDDY) again sold the most cars, capturing 18.3% of the overall passenger-vehicle market.

China shipped 22% more passenger cars overseas in September than a year earlier. The month’s results lifted the total by 32% to 3.6 million for the first nine months of 2024.

European Union member states this month voted to levy tariffs of as much as 45% on electric cars made in China.

NEV exports to Europe weakened, but their performance is strong in Latin America and Southeast Asia, the CPCA said.