On April 11, caucus released China's automobile production and sales data for March.
In March, production and sales of automobiles totaled 2.241 million units, up 23.4% and 28.4% month-on-month, and down 9.1% and 11.7% year-on-year, respectively. From January to March, production and sales totaled 6.484 million units, up 2.0% y/y, and sales totaled 6.509 million units, up 2.0% y/y.
In the first quarter, automobile production and sales increased slightly year-on-year, and the growth rate dropped significantly from the same period last year. From the perspective of subdivided models, the growth rate of passenger car production and sales is higher than that of the industry as a whole; the production and sales of commercial vehicles are still declining rapidly year-on-year; the production and sales of new energy vehicles continue to grow rapidly, both exceeding one million vehicles, and the market share has reached 19.3%, and the strategic leading role of new energy vehicles has been further highlighted.
In March, production and sales of new energy vehicles totaled 465,000 units and 484,000 units, up 1.1 times year-on-year. Among them, the production and sales of pure electric vehicles reached 376,000 units and 396,000 units, respectively, an increase of 1.1 times year-on-year; the production and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles were 89,000 units and 88,000 units, up 1.6 times and 1.4 times year-on-year, respectively; and the production and sales of fuel cell vehicles were 500 units and 367 units, respectively, an increase of 10.1 times and 5.2 times year-on-year, respectively.
From January to March, production and sales of new energy vehicles totaled 1.293 million units and 1.257 million units, up 1.4 times year-on-year. Among them, the production and sales of pure electric vehicles reached 1.036 million units and 1.007 million units, respectively, an increase of 1.3 times year-on-year; the production and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles were 256,000 units and 249,000 units, up 2.3 times and 2.0 times year-on-year, respectively; the production and sales of fuel cell vehicles were 856 units and 738 units, up 7.2 times and 3.9 times year-on-year, respectively.
In March, auto companies exported 170,000 units, down 5.5% month-on-month and 28.8% year-on-year. By model, passenger car exports were 121,000 units this month, down 17.1% month-on-month and 21.8% year-on-year; commercial vehicle exports were 49,000 units, up 43.3% month-on-month and 49.8% year-on-year. The contribution of new energy vehicle export growth this month was 17.4%.
From January to March, auto companies exported 582,000 units, up 58.3% year-on-year. By model, passenger car exports increased by 61.9% y/y to 452,000 units, while commercial vehicle exports increased by 47.2% y/y.