NEV sales in China exceed the million mark

More than one million electric cars and plug-in hybrids were sold in China in June. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), 1,049,000 of the so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs) were sold - with BYD remaining the largest manufacturer.

The approximately 1.05 million NEVs represent an increase of 9.8 per cent compared to May (955,000 units) and 30.1 per cent more than in the same month last year (806,000 new energy vehicles). After November and December 2023, June 2024 is only the third month overall in which NEV sales in China exceeded the million mark. The Chinese EV market has now finally overcome the slowdown at the beginning of the year.

The CAAM figures are wholesale sales by car manufacturers, including sales in China and exports to overseas markets such as Europe. However, most vehicles remain in China: 963,000 New Energy Vehicles were sold domestically in June (+32.2% year-on-year, +12.5% compared to May). As a result, 86,000 NEVs were exported (+10.3% year-on-year, +13.2% compared to May).

Across all drive types, 2,552,000 vehicles were sold in China in June, which is actually a decrease of 2.7% compared to June 2023 – but an increase of 5.6% compared to May 2024. Thus, The NEV ratio rose to 41.1 per cent in June, a new record. Even in November and December 2023, when NEV sales were higher in absolute terms, the NEV share of the overall market was not as high as it is now.

612,000 of the 1,049,000 units were battery electric cars – that’s 58.3 per cent of all new energy vehicles. BEV sales increased by 7.4 per cent compared to June 2023 and by five per cent compared to May. The 436,000 plug-in hybrids represent a new record – 85.1 per cent more than a year ago and 17.5 per cent more than in May.

New energy vehicles include battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell drives. Although 1,000 units in June represent an increase of 11.4 per cent compared to the same month last year, the FCEV share of new energy vehicles alone is only 0.09 per cent. In terms of total sales in China, the figure is only 0.039 per cent.

BYD by far the strongest NEV manufacturer

BYD also contributed to the new June record for plug-in hybrids. As reported, the Chinese manufacturer sold 341,658 new energy vehicles in June. BEV sales fell slightly compared to May, so the record is due to the growth in plug-in hybrids.

At Tesla, the extreme ups and downs of China sales were interrupted in June – compared to May, the 59,261 new electric cars represent a rather moderate growth of 7.3 per cent. Tesla sold a total of 71,007 electric cars built in China, of which 11,746 vehicles were exported.

Among the established car manufacturers, SAIC led the way with 93,422 NEVs sold (+8.8 per cent) – this Group result includes both SAIC’s own brands and the joint ventures. Geely followed with 65,959 NEVs (+88%) ahead of Changan (63,586 New Energy Vehicles) and Chery (44,851 NEVs, +230.6%).

Li Auto stands out among the startups and young brands – some independent, some with group affiliation – with 47,774 units in June. Li Auto also offers electric vehicles with range extenders and expanded its portfolio with a new model at the beginning of the second quarter.

Among the pure BEV startups, Nio was just ahead of Stellantis partner Leapmotor (20,116 vehicles, +52.3%) and the Geely brand Zeekr (20,106 units, +100.5%) with 21,209 units (+98.1%) in June. Deepal also achieved a five-digit result with 16,659 units and recorded solid growth of 107.2 per cent. VW partner Xpeng only just made it into the five-digit range in June with 10,668 vehicles. The exact situation at Xiaomi is unclear: the company claims to have delivered “more than 10,000 SU7s” in June, but does not give a specific figure. You can read our driving report on the model hyped in China here.

The Dongfeng brand Voyah rounds off our list (not exhaustive) with 5,507 new energy vehicles in June (+83%), and Avatr, a joint venture between Changan, Huawei and CATL: according to its own figures, Avatr sold 4,682 vehicles in June, which corresponds to growth of 167 per cent compared to June 2023.

cnevpost.com (CAAM), cnevpost.com (BYD), cnevpost.com (Tesla), nio.com (Nio), xiaopeng.com (Xpeng), cnevpost.com (Zeekr), gasgoo.com (Geely), cnevpost.com (Xiaomi), gasgoo.com (SAIC), gasgoo.com (Leapmotor), gasgoo.com (Chery), gasgoo.com (Changan), gasgoo.com (Avatr), gasgoo.com (Deepal), gasgoo.com (Voyah), gasgoo.com (Li Auto)