New energy vehicles are being tested in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. The country's major industry association said that the Chinese company's sales of new energy vehicles or NEVs are expected to reach 6 million units this year, as the sector's growth continues to grow and consumers are increasingly more popular, as a result of rising popularity, according to the country's major industry association on Tuesday.
In July, carmakers sold 564,000 electric and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles, up 123.7 percent from the same month last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
It swelled the number of NEV sales in the first seven months to 3.03 million units, up 123 percent year-on-year.
They have exceeded our expectations. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the association, said that we are revising our estimates to 6 million units from 5.5 million units for this year.
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Between August and December, Cui estimated that their monthly sales are expected to average over 600,000 units. He said that all types of NEVs in China could reach 6.5 million units, if combined with electric trucks and buses.
He said that Chinese consumers are increasingly accepting of NEVs. The association's data shows that NEVs accounted for 26.4 percent of total passenger vehicle sales in July. In the same month last year, the corresponding figure was 16.6 percent.
The availability of new models, favorable policies including extra license plates and subsidies this year, as well as local governments' introduction of environmentally friendly fleets is a factor in their sales, said Cui.
NEVs will account for 100 percent of the new vehicles they purchase by the year 2025, according to local authorities in Shandong province.
A breakdown of July sales showed that 16 carmakers sold 10,000 personal NEVs each. Most of them are local Chinese marques and five of them are startups, including Xpeng.
BYD delivered 162,200 units, followed by Wuling at 59,300 and Geely at 32,000 units.
Tesla, which frequently figured among the top three players, fell to fourth position at 28,217 units.
It suspended production for days in the month to upgrade the production line at its Shanghai plant. The facility can produce 750,000 vehicles a year, the most of Tesla's plants in the world.
Last month, Tesla exported 19,756 Shanghai-made vehicles. The Chinese company exported more than 110,000 units to markets including Europe, Japan, Australia and Singapore in the first seven months.
SAIC ranked No 2 last month, exporting 13,413 units. It was followed by eGT, a joint venture between Dongfeng and the Renault-Nissan Alliance, with 6,103 units.
In July, 49,000 personal NEVs were shipped overseas by carmakers in China, nearly 22 percent of the total vehicle exports.
Cui said that China-made NEVs are gaining acceptance in overseas markets and their manufacturers' expanding after-sales service networks are expected to boost the reputation of the vehicles.
In late July, Chinese EV startup Nio said its first overseas vehicle battery plant, located in Hungary, is expected to be operational in September.
The plant will serve as a production, service and R&D center for Nio's battery-swap stations in Europe.
In 2021, Nio entered the European market with Norway as its first stop. The company said in the second half of the year it will expand to Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.
The company said that the plant will add more momentum to the construction of battery-swap stations in these countries and will provide a solid foundation for local battery-swaps and charging services.