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Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA),stated that the national passenger vehicle industry inventory stood at 3.54 million units at the end of April, up 90,000 units MoM and up 40,000 units compared to April 2025, forming a trend of sustained inventory growth. Among this, manufacturer inventory accounted for 29.8%, which was relatively high. The April forecast optimism was 36%, and the post-April satisfaction in early May was 7%. Expectations were low but satisfaction was even worse, mainly due to the significant impact of high oil prices. The team's optimism for the May market dropped to 27%, which was a relatively low level in recent market optimism assessments. Even after repeated downward adjustments, expectations have yet to turn more optimistic.

On May 20, data from South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed that total automobile exports in April reached $6.17 billion, down 5.5% compared to the same period last year. Among them, exports to North America, Latin America, and Oceania were up 2.4%, 23.7%, and 20.1% YoY respectively, but due to the ongoing war between the US and Iran, exports to the Middle East plunged 38.7%; exports to the EU and Asia declined 13.1% and 31.7% respectively. The data also showed that due to disruptions in some auto parts supply chains and consumers waiting for new and facelifted versions of major car models to launch, China's automobile production fell 6.1% YoY to 362,000 units.

On May 20, Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the CPCA (China Passenger Car Association), stated that looking ahead, as automakers ramp up sales promotions and the volume push window opens in late May, retail sales are expected to rebound again, with the monthly YoY decline likely narrowing compared to the first ten days of the month. Meanwhile, the market divergence trend will continue, with new energy vehicles and low-priced entry-level car models still expected to outperform traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and mid-to-high-end joint venture brands.