Posted on 13 Mar 2025
The implementation a new central government-promoted car trade-in policy that began on January 1, coupled with technological upgrades spurring demand, helped sales and production of automobiles in China enjoy steady growth during the first two months of this year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in its latest release published on March 11.
Over January-February, the country's car sales rose by 13.1% on year to 4.55 million units, and output climbed by 16.2% on year to 4.55 million units. Total vehicle sales were only 1,000 short of production, according to the release.
For February alone, sales and production of automobiles across China jumped by 34.4% and 39.6% respectively on year to 2.13 million and 2.1 million units, CAAM noted. These numbers were lower by 12.2% and 14.1% on month though, it said.
Both sales and production of vehicles were disrupted by the Chinese New Year holidays last month that officially ended on February 4 though many companies had waited until after China's Lantern Festival on February 12 before fully resuming operations, Mysteel Global notes.
The passenger car segment continued to "perform well" lasty month, the association stated, with total sales and production reaching 3.95 million and 3.94 million units during January-February, higher by 14.4% and 17.2% from the same period last year. Last month, sales of passenger vehicles surged by 36.2% on year to 1.82 million units, while production swelled by 40.2% on year to 1.79 million units. The two numbers were down 14.9% and 17% from January though, according to CAAM.
In the first two months, Chinese-brand passenger vehicles captured 69.4% of the domestic passenger car market, rising by 9.5 percentage points from the previous year, as total sales of Chinese-brand cars gained by 32.6% on year to 2.74 million units, according to the release.
CAAM pointed out that the market for commercial vehicles showed signs of recovery, with their sales ticking up by 5.1% on year to 604,000 units in January-February, and output rising 10.2% during the same period to 617,000 units. For February, the sales volume was higher by 25% on year or 7.8% on month at 313,000 units. In tandem, the production volume increased by 36.6% on year or 6.3% on month to 318,000 units.
"The market for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) continues to shine," remarked CAAM. Both sales and output of NEVs surged by 52% on year during January-February to reach 1.84 million and 1.9 million units, respectively. For February, the volumes were higher by a huge 87.1% and 91.5% respectively on year at 892,000 and 888,000 units.
In terms of exports, China sold 911,000 vehicles abroad in the first two months, up 10.9% on year. Within the total, 441,000 units were for February, up 16.9% on year but down 6.2% on month. Meanwhile, the total volume of NEV exports reached 282,000 units during January-February, leaping by 54.5% on year, the CAAM data showed.
China automotive sector's performance
'000 units | Feb 2025 | Jan-Feb 2025 | ||||||
Sales | YoY (%) | Output | YoY (%) | Sales | YoY (%) | Output | YoY (%) | |
All autos | 2,129 | 34.4 | 2,103 | 39.6 | 4,552 | 13.1 | 4,553 | 16.2 |
NEVs | 892 | 87.1 | 888 | 91.5 | 1,835 | 52 | 1,903 | 52 |
Source: CAAM |
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Source:Mysteel Global
