- China passenger vehicle retail sales plunged 16% in early July to 770K units, signaling a pronounced seasonal slowdown.
- Wholesale deliveries fell 17% year‑on‑year but showed improvement week‑by‑week as dealers pulled back on restocking.
- New energy vehicles held resilience with NEV wholesale up 5% and retail penetration at a robust 63%.
The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released data showing that from July 1 to 19, China’s passenger vehicle retail sales reached 770K units, down 16% year on year and 4% from the same period last month.
During the same period, China’s wholesale deliveries from passenger vehicle manufacturers reached 747K units, down 17% year on year and 14% from the same period last month.
From cumulative data, China’s passenger vehicle retail sales for the year to date reached 9.471M units, down 20% year on year. Wholesale volume reached 13.293M units, down 6%.
Since the start of July, China’s auto market has continued the seasonal weak trend seen in previous years, with the June mid-year sales push creating a certain pull-forward effect on end-market demand.
By week, average daily retail sales in the first week stood at 34K units, down 15% year on year. Average daily retail sales in the second week reached 39K units, down 16% year on year. In the third week, average daily retail sales reached 47K units, down 18% year on year, with the decline widening week by week.
Unlike the retail trend, wholesale showed signs of recovery. In the first week, average daily wholesale volume reached 25K units, down 35% year on year. It recovered to 36K units in the second week, with the year-on-year decline narrowing to 20%. In the third week, average daily wholesale volume reached 53K units, with the year-on-year decline narrowing further to 6%.
New energy vehicles continued to show resilience. In the first three weeks of July, China’s NEV passenger vehicle retail sales reached 485K units, down 4% year on year, with the decline significantly smaller than the overall market and retail penetration holding at 63%.
On the wholesale side, China’s NEV passenger vehicle wholesale reached 509K units, up 5% year on year but down 14% from the same period last month, with wholesale penetration reaching 68.1%. For the year to date, cumulative NEV wholesale reached 7.296M units, up 5% year on year. Cumulative retail reached 5.19M units, down 13% year on year.
The production split between gasoline and electrified vehicles remained unchanged. In the first three weeks of July, production of pure gasoline light vehicles reached 250K units, down 56% year on year and 17% from the same period last month. During the same period, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle production reached 219K units, down 16% year on year and 1% from the same period last month.
The CPCA analyzed that the weak market in the first three weeks of July was mainly weighed down by three factors. First, seasonal factors: July is a traditional weak sales month, compounded by the World Cup and hot weather, reducing end-market foot traffic.
Second, early demand release: the June mid-year sales push by automakers pulled forward some consumer demand. Third, the base effect: sales during the same period last year were at a relatively high level. As retail weakness transmitted to dealers, inventory pressure increased and willingness to restock weakened, putting synchronized pressure on the wholesale side.
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