SHANGHAI, Apr 13 (SMM) – China's installed capacity of batteries to power electric vehicles surged 363.2% in March from the month before to 2.86GWh, showed data from the China Automobile Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance (CAPBIIA), suggesting the country’s EV sector is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

Data published by the (CAPBIIA) on Friday also revealed that China’s installed power battery capacity in March was 45.6% lower than the same month of 2019, continuing year-on-year declines posted each month since July last year when a substantial cut to NEV subsidies came into force. Installed power battery capacity plummeted 73.4% year on year to 0.6GWh in February.

The loading volume of ternary batteries jumped 326.8% month on month but fell 42.9% year on year to 2.2GWh last month, while that of lithium iron phosphate or LFP batteries declined 49.4% on year to 0.5GWh, but posted a 598.1% surge from February.

In the first three months of 2020, China's installed capacity of batteries to power EVs totalled 5.7GWh, down 53.8% from the same period of 2019.

Ternary batteries accounted for 4.3GWh, or 76.1% of the total, down 53% year on year, while LFP batteries took up 1.3GWh, or 23.5%, down 52.3% year on year.

A separate report from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on Thursday said China’s wholesale deliveries of new energy passenger vehicles stood at 56,000 units in March, 49.2% lower from the same period last year but nearly quadruple from February.