Auto Trend: New Energy And Exports Double-Driven Auto Market in February, The Best Sales in 5 Years

Although affected by the Spring Festival holiday, the actual sales days in February were less than other months, but the performance of the Chinese auto market in February this year has created the highest sales volume in the same period in the past five years.

According to the latest sales statistics of the China Automobile Association, in February this year, the Chinese auto market was affected by factors such as the off-season sales, chip shortages, and repeated epidemics. In 2019, before the occurrence, the new energy vehicle market and vehicle exports showed a large proportion of growth.

The market performed the best in 5 years in February

According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, automobile production and sales in February were 1.813 million and 1.737 million, down 25.2% and 31.4% from January, and up 20.6% and 18.7% year-on-year. In the first two months, the production and sales of automobiles reached 4.235 million and 4.268 million respectively, an increase of 8.8% and 7.5% year-on-year respectively.

Among them, the production and sales of the passenger car market were 1.534 million and 1.487 million respectively, down 26.1% and 32.0% from the previous month, and up 32% and 27.8% from the same period last year. In terms of market segments, the growth rate of the sedan and SUV segments both outperformed the growth rate of the passenger car market, while the crossover passenger car showed a year-on-year decline. The sales volume of the sedan market was 687,000 units, an increase of 28.4% over the same period last year. The market sales volume reached 734,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 29.6%, and the sales volume of crossover passenger vehicles was 15,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 9.5%.

The high-end passenger car market still maintains a rapid growth trend. According to statistics from the China Automobile Association, in February, the sales volume of domestically produced high-end brand passenger cars was 268,000, down 29.7% month-on-month and up 31.6% year-on-year. From January to February, the cumulative sales of domestic high-end brand passenger vehicles was 656,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 20%, 5.6 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of passenger vehicles.

It is worth noting that in February this year, the performance of China's auto market and passenger car market not only recovered to the level before the epidemic, but also the highest sales in the same period in the past five years. Even compared with the same period in 2017, which created an all-time high in China's auto market, the performance of China's auto market fell by only 10 percentage points in February this year, and the passenger car market fell by 8.9%.

The continuous recovery of the market stems from the expansion of demand. According to the data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics, in February, the production index and new order index of the automobile industry were both higher than 54.0%, and the production and operation activity expectation index was at 54.0% for two consecutive months since January. 60.0% above the high level of the prosperity range, higher than the average level of the manufacturing industry.

The penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles reaches 21%

The performance of the new energy vehicle market is still outstanding, with production and sales of 368,000 vehicles and 334,000 vehicles respectively, an increase of 2.0 times and 1.8 times year-on-year, respectively, and the market penetration rate reached 19.23%, but there was a significant decline compared with January, and the output fell by 18.6% month-on-month. Sales volume fell 22.6% month-on-month. In the first two months, the production and sales of the new energy vehicle market were 820,000 and 765,000, up 197.5% and 154.7% year-on-year, respectively.

Specifically, the sales volume of the new energy passenger vehicle market reached 321,000 units, down 23.4% month-on-month, an increase of 182.2% over the same period last year, and the market penetration rate reached 21.59%. Among them, the sales volume of pure electric passenger vehicles reached 246,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 154.5%, and the sales volume of plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles was 75,000 units, an increase of 338.6% from the same period last year, and the growth rate was significantly higher than the overall new energy vehicle market. . From January to February, the cumulative sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 740,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 155.8%.

The sales volume of the new energy commercial vehicle market was 13,000 units, an increase of 1.8% month-on-month and a year-on-year increase of 251.3%. In the first two months, the cumulative sales volume of the new energy commercial vehicle market was 25,000 units, an increase of 125% over the same period last year.

The hot new energy vehicle market has changed the seating chart of auto companies to a certain extent. With the sales of 90,300 vehicles, BYD has squeezed out Great Wall Motor and ranked fifth among the top 15 Chinese brand car sales in January-February. No. 1, and No. 4 among the top 15 Chinese brand passenger car sales in January-February.

In addition, the installed capacity of power batteries also showed a significant year-on-year increase. According to the statistics of the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, the installed capacity of power batteries in my country in February was 13.7GWh, a year-on-year increase of 145.1%, a month-on-month decrease of 15.5%, and continued to maintain a substantial year-on-year increase. Among them, the total installed capacity of ternary batteries was 5.8GWh, a year-on-year increase of 75.6% and a month-on-month decrease of 19.9%; the total installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries was 7.8GWh, a year-on-year increase of 247.3% and a month-on-month decrease of 12.3%.