China’s auto sales and output plunge in Apr

In April, China’s sales and production of automobiles both declined on year for the second month by 47.6% and 46.1% respectively, according to the data released by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on May 11.

Compared with March, last month’s total vehicle sales slumped by 47.1% on month to 1.18 million units, while output totaled 1.21 million units, falling by 46.2% on month, CAAM’s data showed.

Over January-April, China’s total vehicle sales slipped by 12.1% on year to 7.7 million units, while output also declined by 10.5% on year to 7.7 million units, according to the data.

In April, the supply chain of Chinese auto industry had faced challenges due to COVID-induced disruptions, with some automakers halting production and delaying delivery, CAAM noted.

Chinese government had released a series of measures to promote sales of automobiles recently. Besides, many automakers have been trying to resume their normal operations and launched several new models to revive the market, according to CAAM, adding that the domestic auto industry has been recovering and auto sales are expected to grow steadily.

Last month, in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector, electric cars performed the best in both sales and production, with the former surging by 34.6% on year to 231,000 units and the latter soaring by 33% on year to 242,000 units.

In the first four months of 2022, sales of electric cars amounted to 1.24 million units while production of these cars totaled 1.28 million units, both up 100% on year, according to CAAM’s data.

In April, China’s auto exports eased by 6.6% on year, or down 17.2% on month to 141,000 units. Among the total, exports of passenger cars were lower by 15.2% on year to 99,000 units. Nevertheless, over January-April, China’s total vehicle exports still jumped by 39.4% on year to 723,000 units, CAAM’s data showed.

Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com

Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between MySteel Global and SteelMint.