China car sales maintain growth pace in 2024, EV and hybrid sales hit record

China's car sales maintained their growth pace in 2024 as sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in the world's largest auto market hit a record high amid a brutal price war and with subsidised trade-ins for greener vehicles driving purchases, News.az reports citing Reuters.

The outstanding growth in China in a largely stalling global EV landscape spelled good fortune for local winners such as BYD (SZ:002594), Geely and Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) and expedited an industry shakeout in a competitive market.

It also benefited Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), whose China sales hit a record high in 2024, bucking an overall decline in the U.S. EV giant's global sales.

Other foreign automakers such as General Motors (NYSE:GM), Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) continued to lose ground to local rivals, however, with many of them struggling to sustain effective capacity usage at their Chinese plants.

Passenger vehicle sales were up 5.3% to 23.1 million units in 2024 for the fourth straight year of growth, in line with the 2023 pace, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids, known collectively as new energy vehicles (NEVs), rose 40.7% to make up 47.2% of total car sales last year, closing in on a 50% milestone, buoyed by a programme likened to the U.S. "cash-for-clunkers" stimulus in 2009.

More than 6.6 million cars sold last year benefited from government subsidies of up to $2,800 for NEV purchases versus as much as $2,000 for more fuel-efficient combustion engine vehicles. Over 60% of the subsidised purchases went to NEVs, per official data.

News.Az