China posts 2-digit YoY jump in auto output, sales in May 2023

Beijing (Gasgoo)- In May, China’s auto market remains stable with positive year-on-year and month-on-month growth in auto output and sales. 

In the past month, several governmental departments jointly released an announcement regarding the implementation of the China VI emission standards for automobiles. This move is expected to contribute to market stability. During the May Day holiday, many regions introduced car purchase promotions and organized marketing events to boost the moderate recovery of market demand. 

Notably, the production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) continued their rapid growth trend. The automobile export sector also made significant contributions.

In the fifth month of 2023, China produced 2.333 million vehicles in total, representing a 9.4% rise over the previous month, while reflecting a 21.1% jump over the previous year, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). 

At the same time, China's monthly auto sales amounted to 2.382 million vehicles in the past month, up 10.3% from a month ago and 27.9% from the year-ago period. 

In the Jan.-May period of this year, there were 10.687 million and 10.617 million vehicles produced and sold across the country, which both hiked up 11.1% compared to the earlier year.

ZEEKR 001; photo credit: ZEEKR

Regarding the performance of NEVs in May, there were about 713,000 and 717,000 NEVs produced and sold by automakers in China in the past month, which surged 53% and 60.2% year on year and month on month, respectively. NEVs accounted for 30.1% of the country's total auto sales last month, 0.6 percentage points higher than a month ago.

In the first five months of this year, China's NEV output and sales each leapt 45.1% and 46.8% from a year ago to 3.005 and 2.94 million vehicles. Sales of NEVs held 27% of the total China auto sales volume in the period.

In May, there were roughly 389,000 vehicles exported outside of the country by automakers in China, edging up 3.4% month on month while spiking 58.7% year over year. Of the vehicles shipped overseas last month, about 108,000 units were NEVs, rising 7.9% from the previous month and shooting up 150% from the earlier year. 

In the first five months of this year, 1.758 million vehicles left China and set sail to overseas markets, representing an 81.5% soar from a year ago. Among which, about 457,000 units were NEVs, indicating a year-on-year growth of 160%.

China's passenger vehicle sales stood at 2.051 million units in May 2023, representing a 13.3% increase over the previous month and a 26.4% jump over the previous year. Monthly sales of conventional oil-fueled vehicles in the country reached 1.142 million units, which grew 16% month over month and 9.6% year over year. 

In the first five months of 2023, a total sales volume of 9.063 million passenger vehicles were achieved by automakers in China, up 10.7% compared to the prior-year period.

Last month, sales of China-branded passenger vehicles totaled to roughly 1.099 million units, accounting for 53.6% of China's overall passenger vehicle sales. Compared to a year ago, the number surged 37.6%. 

In the Jan.-May period, cumulative sales of China-branded passenger vehicles summed up to 4.781 million units, jumping 22.7% from the earlier year. 

Finally, May production and sales volumes of commercial vehicles in China came in at 322,000 units and 330,000 units, respectively, which indicated a 9.3% and 4.9% notch down over a month ago, but still represented a 42.9% and 38.2% increase over the previous year.

In the first five months of this year, there were a total of 1.625 million and 1.616 million commercial vehicles produced and sold by companies in China, which rose 14.2% and 13.7% from the earlier year.

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