Chinese car sales accelerate again in July
Chinese auto sales rose 16.7 percent year on year to 2.11 million vehicles in July, the fourth consecutive month of growth, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released on Tuesday.
In the first seven months, however, the country's overall car sales were down 12.7 percent to 12.37 million units, which was attributed to macro-economic headwinds and weak consumer confidence amid the pandemic, data from the association shows.
July's gains follow a 11.6 percent increase in June and 14.5 percent increase in May. These results indicate that the automobile market is recovering quickly under favorable policies by central and local governments as well as a return of consumer sentiment.
In July, as the pandemic situation continued to improve, auto companies accelerated the resumption of output. The association said that market entities have accelerated the pace of business, and vitality has gradually increased.
CAAM expects car sales to further improve in the second half of the year, but China's auto market is still likely to see a 10 percent drop for the entire year.
The association added that the slide could deepen to around 20 percent if a second wave of infection occurs. In 2019, overall sales fell 8.2 percent to 25.77 million vehicles.
"CAAM hopes that local governments will issue more policies to boost car sales in the second half of the year with a greater scope of benefits, and ensure these policies will be implemented as soon as possible. Automakers are suggested to pay close attention to the latest policies and adjust the pace of production and operation, in order to steadily promote high-quality development," the association said.
Among total sales in July, passenger car sales in China reached 1.67 million units, up 8.5 percent from the same month last year. Commercial vehicle sales totaled 447,000 units last month, a jump of 59.4 percent year on year.
Sales of new-energy vehicles ended 12 straight months of decline with a 19.3 percent jump to 98,000 units. Specifically, electric vehicles rose 24.2 percent year on year to 79,000 units. Sales of plug-in hybrids climbed 2.7 percent to 19,000 units.
Around 7,800 new charging poles were added in July, an increase of 26.8 percent year on year. To date, a total of 566,000 charging poles have been reported across the country, according to data from the association.