China's August NEV retail sales fall 10%, but penetration hits record 65.2%

• China's NEV retail sales fell 10.1% year-on-year to 1.005 million in August, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline.
• NEV exports surged 154.7% year-on-year, accounting for 58.4% of total passenger car exports.

China's new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales fell about 10% year-on-year in August, but a near-halving of gasoline car sales pushed NEV penetration to a record high.

NEV retail sales totaled 1.005 million in August, down 10.1% year-on-year but up 5.7% from July, according to data released Tuesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

This marked the eighth consecutive month of year-on-year declines. Retail sales in the first 8 months totaled 6.674 million, down 12.1% from a year earlier.

The August figure was below the 1.069 million previously reported by the CPCA based on preliminary data.

Still, NEVs continued to gain market share. Their retail penetration rate reached a record 65.2% in August, up 9.9 percentage points year-on-year and 0.1 percentage points from July.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were the only powertrain category to post year-on-year growth. BEV retail sales totaled 698,000 in August, up 0.8% from a year earlier and 7.9% from July.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) retail sales fell 29.6% year-on-year to 226,000, though they rose 3.1% from July.

Extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) retail sales dropped 22.2% year-on-year to 81,000, down 4.6% from July.

China's total passenger car retail sales reached 1.541 million in August, down 23.6% year-on-year but up 5.5% from July. Year-to-date sales totaled 11.716 million, down 20.8%.

Exports continued to support the industry's factory output. China's passenger car exports totaled 888,000 in August, up 77.8% year-on-year.

NEV exports surged 154.7% year-on-year to 518,000, though they fell 5.0% from July. They accounted for 58.4% of passenger car exports, up 18 percentage points from a year earlier.

NEV wholesale sales reached 1.51 million in August, up 16.4% year-on-year and 3.9% from July. NEVs accounted for 64.2% of passenger car wholesale sales, up 12 percentage points from a year earlier.

BYD (HKEX: 1211) maintained a commanding lead in August, with domestic NEV retail sales of 233,943.

Geely Auto (HKEX: 0175) and Leapmotor (HKEX: 9863) ranked second and third in the NEV retail market, with sales of 110,560 and 84,874, respectively.

They were followed by Changan Automobile with 57,874, SAIC-GM-Wuling with 53,087 and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) with 50,047.

Chery (HKEX: 9973) sold 46,391, while Huawei-backed HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) recorded 42,101, Li Auto (Nasdaq: LI) 37,679 and Nio (NYSE: NIO) 35,655.

Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) posted retail sales of 30,982, while Xiaomi (HKEX: 1810) sold 30,153.

China's emerging automakers held a 26.0% share of the NEV retail market in August, up 5.5 percentage points year-on-year, driven mainly by Leapmotor and Nio, the CPCA said.

The auto market was beginning to recover from a trough in August, the CPCA said. The implementation of policies to support consumption and a more favorable comparison base should help build momentum for the traditional peak season in September and October.

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