China’s NEV retail sales hit a record 1.123 million in September, CPCA data shows

China’s passenger electric vehicle retail sales reached a record 1.123 million units in September, marking the second straight month above 1 million.

According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), China’s retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) continued to rise in September, reaching a new record high.

Retail sales of passenger NEVs in China totaled 1.123 million units in September, the second consecutive month of sales above 1 million, up 50.9 percent from the same month last year and 9.6 percent from August.

The figure was above the CPCA’s preliminary figure of 1.12 million units released in early October and above the estimate of 1.1 million released late last month.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 57.3 percent of all NEV retail sales in September with 644,000 units. This represents a 29.2 percent increase from last year and a 10.9 percent increase from August.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), excluding extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), accounted for 361,000 retail sales in September and contributed 32.1 percent of all NEV retail sales. That’s 96.7 percent more than last year and 6.8 percent more than in August.

Retail sales of EREVs totaled 117,000 units in September, contributing 10.4 percent of NEV retail sales, up 89.1 percent year-on-year and 10.9 percent from August.

This is the first time the CPCA has released separate sales figures for EREVs, as sales of such models were previously included in PHEVs.

China’s passenger vehicles, including sedans, SUVs and MPVs, retailed at 2.109 million units in September, up 4.5 percent from a year ago and 10.6 percent from August.

China’s NEV retail penetration rate was 53.3 percent in September, exceeding the 50 percent mark for the third consecutive month.

The penetration rate was 16.4 percentage points above the 36.9 percent in the same month last year, but 0.6 percentage points below the 53.9 percent in August.

According to CPCA, NEV local brand retail penetration was 74.9 percent in September, compared to 33.5 percent for luxury brands and 7 percent for mainstream JV brands.

Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs reached a record 1,231,000 units in September, up 48.1 percent year-on-year and up 17.2 percent compared to August.

Wholesale NEV penetration reached a record 49.1 percent in September, up 15 percentage points from 33.9 percent a year ago and up 0.2 percentage points from 48.9 percent in August.

Wholesale NEV penetration of local Chinese brands was 64 percent in September, compared to 40 percent for luxury brands and 6.2 percent for mainstream JV brands.

In September, 105,000 passenger car NEVs were exported from China, 19.3 percent more than last year and 6.0 percent more than in August, accounting for 24 percent of passenger car exports.

According to CPCA, BEVs accounted for 82 percent of NEV exports in September, with Class A0 and A00 BEVs accounting for 30 percent of NEV exports.

Electric vehicle insurance approvals in China for the week ending October 6: Nio 4,500, Tesla 1,800, Xiaomi 3,800, BYD 67,600