Car production and sales shrank in July, new energy passenger cars fell 4.2% from a year earlier

SMM8, 13 March-according to the latest figures released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, automobile production reached 1.8 million in July 2019, down 5 percent from the previous month and 11.9 percent from the same period last year; of these, 1.523 million passenger cars were produced, down 4.7 percent from the previous month and 11.7 percent from the same period last year.

In the new energy vehicle sector, sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 60, 000 in July, down 12.5% from the previous month and 12.9% from the same period last year. Sales of pure electric passenger vehicles reached 48000, down 58.3% from the previous month and 4.2% from the same period last year. Sales of plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles reached 19000, down 15.2% from the previous month and 20.6% from the same period last year.

According to the China Association of Automobile Industries, the "culprit" for the sudden decline in new energy passenger car sales is the decline in new energy subsidies. According to a notice issued on March 26 by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission, the subsidy standard for new energy vehicles will decline by an average of 50% from 2018 from June 26, and with the decline in subsidies, the decline in sales in July may be just the beginning of a shift in market attitudes. In addition, during the switching period, the performance-to-price ratio of Guowu vehicles is more attractive to unrestricted urban vehicle owners and is also one of the influencing factors.

From January to July, the cumulative production and sales of new energy vehicles was 701000 and 699000, up 39.1 per cent and 40.9 per cent from the same period last year, and the growth rate slowed sharply from the same period last year. From the composition of new energy vehicle sales, pure electric passenger vehicles still account for a large share, accounting for 70%, plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles account for 20.5%. Pure electric buses accounted for 9.1%, plug-in hybrid commercial vehicles accounted for 0.4%.