China’s passenger vehicle market saw a mix of ups and downs in June 2024, with a year-over-year decrease of 6.7% but a month-over-month increase of 3.2%. The month saw a total of 1.767 million vehicles retailed in the country, with the first half of the year totaling 9.841 million units, marking a 3.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
Conventional oil-fueled vehicle retail sales in China totaled 910,000 units in June, a significant year-on-year decrease of 27%. However, the overall retail sales of conventional fuel vehicles from January to June amounted to 5.73 million units, showing a 13% decrease compared to the previous year.
The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) predicts that the annual passenger vehicle sales for 2024 will exceed 22 million units, with the first six months accounting for 43% of the total annual sales.
The market for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China continues to grow, while the introduction of new conventional oil-fueled vehicle models lags behind. The price war in the car market started early this year, with popular NEV models seeing price reductions of nearly 20%. This led to a period of consumer caution regarding prices in the spring but eventually boosted the NEV market.
In June, China’s self-owned brands saw a year-on-year increase of 10%, reaching 1.03 million units. The market share for domestic retail brands was 58.5%, up 9.3 percentage points from the previous year. Mainstream joint-venture brands recorded retail sales of 480,000 units, with German, Japanese, and American brands holding market shares of 18.6%, 14.3%, and 6.3% respectively.
Premium car retail sales in China reached 250,000 units in June, accounting for 14.2% of the total passenger vehicle retail sales. The overall passenger vehicle wholesale volumes in June reached 2.169 million units, with China’s wholly-owned carmakers seeing a year-on-year increase in wholesale volumes.
Passenger car production in China totaled 2.134 million units in June, with a year-on-year decrease of 2.8%. Vehicle exports from China continued strong growth, with passenger vehicle exports reaching 378,000 units in June, a year-on-year jump of 28%. NEVs accounted for 21% of total exports, with self-owned brands leading the way in export growth.
Overall, China’s passenger vehicle market showed resilience in June, with a mix of challenges and opportunities shaping the industry’s performance. As the year progresses, it will be interesting to see how market dynamics evolve and impact the future of the automotive sector in China.
