China's vehicle inventory alert index in Feb. 2025 drops both YoY, MoM

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The China Automobile Dealers Association ("CADA") recently released the latest "China Automobile Dealers Inventory Alert Index" (VIA), showing that in February 2025, the VIA for Chinese automobile dealers reached 56.9%, representing a year-on-year decrease of 7.2 percentage points and a month-on-month decline of 5.4 percentage points.

The index still remains above the boom-bust threshold, signaling ongoing concerns in the automotive circulation sector.

Unlike previous years, the market volatility caused by the Chinese New Year holiday was less pronounced in February, thanks to the early rollout of vehicle replacement and scrappage incentive policies, which helped accelerate market recovery.

Additionally, automakers swiftly introduced aggressive promotional strategies at the start of the year, which also boosted vehicle sales. Tesla led the way by offering an 8,000-yuan insurance subsidy and a five-year zero-interest financing plan for the Model 3, followed by multiple carmakers launching discounts through no-bargain pricing and interest-free financing offers.

The pace of new vehicle model launches also accelerated, with a wave of new vehicles entering the market, including Geely's Galaxy L6 EM-i, GAC Group's Trumpchi E8 PRO+, the AVATR 07 Pro+, Chery's Fulwin T8, and Great Wall Motor's TANK 400 (both gasoline and diesel versions).

With these favorable factors driving demand, China's automobile market experienced steady growth in February. According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), passenger vehicle retail sales from February 1 to 23 reached 924,000 units, an 18% year-on-year increase. The new energy vehicle (NEV) segment saw even stronger growth, with 445,000 units retailed in this period, indicating a 77% spike from the previous year.

Despite these gains, some constraints limited overall growth, including fewer effective sales days and a pre-holiday surge in demand that led to partial sales depletion in February. Looking ahead, with regional automobile shows and a continued influx of new car model launches in March, market demand and sales are expected to maintain a steady growth.