In August, the global car market as a whole continued its decline in July. In the global mainstream car market, except for the 7.6% year-on-year increase in sales in India, car sales in all other markets declined to varying degrees in August. However, the new energy vehicle market still outperformed the overall car market, with sales increasing compared with the same period last year, and the market share of electric vehicles in most countries is still expanding. But it is worth noting that electric car sales in many European countries declined to varying degrees in August compared with July.
The decline in the global car market expanded again in August, and only India achieved growth.
Affected by the epidemic in Malaysia and other places, increased risk in the supply chain has further increased pressure on car companies to reduce production, and car sales in most markets around the world continued to fall in August. Among them, China's car sales fell for four consecutive months compared with the same period last month, but the China Automobile Association pointed out that the decline in China's automobile production and sales is related to a high base in the same period last year. In addition, the association pointed out that although the chip shortage has significantly affected the enterprise's production plans, China's cumulative automobile production and sales still show a slight increase compared with the data for the same period in 2019, so the association believes that at present, the demand of China's terminal automobile market remains stable, mainly due to the insufficient supply of automobile products.
In the US market, car sales have changed from up to down. Adam Jonas, an analyst at, Morgan Stanley, estimates that overall US car sales fell by about 17% in August. Jonas believes that car inventory levels in the United States are at an all-time low, which is a drag on car sales to some extent. In addition, because of low inventories, many car dealers have raised car prices, while the price of cars above the recommended retail price is unacceptable to consumers, which has also affected new car sales.
Car sales in Europe are also not optimistic. In August, European car sales fell even less than the dismal performance of the pandemic in the same period last year, with the second-biggest decline in eight years (the biggest drop in eight years in July). Sales in Europe's five mainstream car markets (Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain) all showed double-digit year-on-year declines, with new car sales in Germany falling to their lowest level since 1992 in August. The German auto industry sentiment index fell to 28.8 points from 56.4 points in August, down nearly 30 points from a month earlier, the lowest since April, as supply chain disruptions and the chip crisis intensified, the Yifu (Ifo) Institute of Economics said on Sept. 2.
India is the only exception to the decline. Car sales in India rose 7.6 per cent in August from a year earlier, as Indian states relaxed epidemic restrictions and dealers reopened across the country. It is worth noting, however, that the recovery in Indian car market sales has slowed significantly compared with July, with sales falling by double digits compared with July.
As the chip shortage crisis still shows no sign of abating, coupled with the further spread of the epidemic in Malaysia and other regions, the Indian car market is expected to change from rising to falling next month, and the global auto market will face further downward pressure.
The new energy vehicle market continues to outperform the market, and the market share of electric vehicles continues to expand.
Overall, the global new energy vehicle market segment continued to outperform the market in August, with sales still showing a steady growth trend. However, compared with July, the growth rate of electric car sales in various countries slowed further compared with the same period last year, with only China growing at a rate of more than three digits. In addition, with the exception of China and Norway, electric car sales in several other countries shrank in August from July, with a month-on-month drop of more than 55%. But the good news is that the global market share of electric cars continues to expand.
As the world's largest single market for new energy vehicles, sales of new energy vehicles continue to be a bright spot. In August, China's production and sales of new energy vehicles continued to set a new record, exceeding 300000 for the first time. The market share of new energy vehicles has risen to 17.8%, and the cumulative market share in the first eight months has also continued to rise to nearly 11%. According to this trend, China is expected to achieve the medium-and long-term planning target of 20% market share of new energy vehicles in 2025 ahead of schedule.
At one point, Europe overtook China to become the world's largest market for electric cars, and sales of electric cars in the region continued to rise in August, but still lagged behind China. The number of electric vehicles registered in Europe in August was 151737, up 61 per cent from a year earlier. With this sales, the market share of electric vehicles in Europe is 21%, the second highest in European history. In addition, August is a special month for the European market, as sales of electric cars surpass those of diesel cars for the first time in history. In the same period last year, electric cars registered 158300 fewer than diesel vehicles, but last month, electric vehicles registered 10100 more than diesel vehicles.
It is also worth mentioning that Germany's electric car market share set a new record in August, reaching 27.6%. As the most electrified country in the world, Norway's market share is still growing month by month, with the market share of electric cars reaching 87.7% last month. According to an analysis published by Motor, a magazine owned by the Norwegian Automobile Federation (Norwegian Automobile Federation), sales of electric cars in Norway continue to rise, while sales of fuel vehicles continue to decline, and Norway is expected to welcome the sale of the last fuel vehicle in seven months' time in April 2022. This means that as early as next April, we will be the first country in the world to achieve 100% electric vehicle sales.
