the turning point has arrived, and the monthly sales of new energy vehicles have surpassed those of fuel vehicles for the first time
2024-08-29
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china economic weekly reporter niu chaoge | beijing report
the turning point has arrived.
the latest data released by the china passenger car association shows that in july this year, the national passenger car market sold 1.72 million vehicles, of which 840,000 were conventional fuel vehicles and 880,000 were new energy vehicles. the domestic new energy vehicle retail penetration rate was 51.1% that month.
for the first time, the monthly domestic retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles surpassed those of traditional fuel passenger vehicles, which means that "green-plate electric vehicles" have become the mainstream of automobile consumption.
behind the turning point is the rapid increase in sales of my country's independent brands and the accelerated improvement of energy replenishment infrastructure, allowing more and more car owners to choose new energy vehicles with confidence.
domestic brands take 60% of the market share
"more and more consumers are beginning to recognize the characteristics of new energy vehicles, such as intelligence, low cost of use and convenient travel, which is prompting more consumers to be willing to buy new energy vehicles." zhang hong, a member of the expert committee of the china automobile dealers association, told a reporter from china economic weekly.
the china passenger car association believes that the breakthrough in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in domestic passenger cars lies in the advantages of the industrial chain brought about by the continuous strengthening of china's manufacturing industry - the batteries, motors, chips and other industries in the equipment manufacturing industry and the parts industry have super advantages; driven by new quality productivity, chinese car companies are fully committed to the development of new energy vehicles, driving china's automobile industry from big to strong; the guiding ideology of open development of the passenger car industry has promoted the full entry of internet companies, smart consumer manufacturing companies, international new energy vehicle companies, etc., and activated the industry's competition and innovation capabilities.
the china passenger car association mentioned that chinese automakers have innovatively developed plug-in hybrid technology. the technical breakthroughs of narrow plug-in hybrid and extended-range hybrid have enriched the technical route of new energy development in the world, making china's plug-in hybrid account for 78% of the world plug-in hybrid market, which is also one of the key reasons why the penetration rate of new energy in domestic passenger cars has exceeded 50%.
at present, domestically produced new energy vehicles have the highest penetration rate, accounting for more than 60% of the domestic market share. according to the china passenger car association, in july this year, the penetration rate of domestically produced new energy vehicles was 62.6%; the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in luxury cars was 37.2%; and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles of mainstream joint venture brands was only 8.1%.
in terms of models, the a0 and a00 class micro electric vehicle markets declined, with a0 class wholesale sales of 113,000 units, down 10% year-on-year; a00 class wholesale sales of 83,000 units, down 3% year-on-year. the sales of higher-priced b class electric vehicles increased by 43% year-on-year, accounting for 41% of the pure electric market with sales of 205,000 units.
in terms of sales, some automakers have achieved impressive sales figures, with significant year-on-year growth, forming a situation of "one super and many strong".
the china passenger car association (cpca) said that in july, domestic brands gained significant growth in the new energy vehicle market. the leading traditional automakers performed well in transformation and upgrading, and byd and other traditional automakers saw a significant increase in brand share.
byd sold 342,400 vehicles, continuing to lead the sales ranking of new energy vehicles. among the new forces, many car companies performed well. ideal auto sold 51,000 vehicles in july, setting a record high; hongmeng zhixing delivered 44,000 vehicles in july, of which more than 41,000 were delivered across the entire series; leapmotor came from behind and sold more than 20,000 vehicles for two consecutive months; xiaopeng, nezha, and xiaomi also sold more than 10,000 vehicles in july.
"as practitioners of new energy vehicles, we express our sincere joy and congratulations on this historic moment. this not only marks that my country's new energy vehicle market has become more mature, but also reflects that chinese consumers' acceptance and preference for new energy vehicles is constantly increasing." a relevant person in charge of leapmotor told a reporter from china economic weekly.
looking into the future, relevant persons in charge of leapmotor said frankly that competition in the new energy vehicle industry is bound to intensify, but opportunities often coexist with challenges. leapmotor will always adhere to full-area independent research and development and continuously enhance its competitiveness in technology, products and industrial chain.
zhang yongwei, vice chairman and secretary-general of the china electric vehicle 100 forum, previously predicted that my country's new energy vehicle production and sales volume is expected to reach 13 million vehicles in 2024, with a growth rate of about 40% and an overall penetration rate of over 40%.
energy replenishment anxiety is alleviated, driving the growth of new energy vehicle sales
the reason behind the reversal in sales of new energy vehicles is that the anxiety of car owners about recharging their "electric daddy" has been effectively alleviated.
many automobile companies are vigorously planning the construction of charging infrastructure for new energy vehicles.
china economic weekly reporter learned from nio that as of august 20, nio has built 23,009 charging piles and 2,480 battery swap stations across the country. its recently released plan to connect all counties with charging stations is expected to complete the construction of battery swap stations in 27 provincial-level administrative regions by june 30, 2025, covering more than 2,300 county-level administrative regions.
"starting from 2026, we will focus on the remaining provincial administrative regions and achieve battery swapping coverage in more than 2,800 county-level administrative regions," said li bin, chairman of nio.
in addition, the reporter of china economic weekly learned from ideal auto that by the end of july, the cumulative number of ideal auto supercharging stations had exceeded 700, and it took only 28 days from the 600th to the 700th. the cumulative number of urban ideal supercharging stations has exceeded 200, and the charging facilities have fully covered the beijing-shanghai expressway, g4 beijing-hong kong-macao expressway, and partially covered g5 beijing-kunming expressway, g1 beijing-harbin expressway and other highways. by the end of 2024, more than 2,000 ideal supercharging stations will be online; more than 10,000 ideal charging piles will be online; the coverage rate of key cities' core urban areas will exceed 90%; and the coverage rate of national-level expressway trunk mileage will exceed 70%.
recently, guo sheng, deputy director of the highway bureau of the ministry of transport, said that as charging facilities in service areas continue to improve, the "energy replenishment anxiety" of electric car owners on highways and long-distance trips is gradually easing. this year, the ministry of transport will continue to guide local governments to accelerate the construction of charging facilities on the basis of completing annual work arrangements, optimize layout, and increase settings to continuously meet the charging needs of electric vehicles on highways.
zhang hong believes that, on the one hand, the increasingly rich product lines of new energy vehicles meet the needs of different consumer groups, and the popularization of charging piles has alleviated the "range anxiety" of new energy vehicles; on the other hand, policies such as "trade-in" to promote automobile consumption have effectively released consumption potential. the promotion of new energy vehicles to rural areas has achieved initial results, and the sales of new energy vehicles have increased significantly.
dongxing securities predicts that the growth of new energy vehicles in china will remain resilient in the second half of the year. on the supply side, many new models will be launched in the second half of the year, the penetration of high-voltage fast charging will accelerate, and high-end plug-in hybrid models will continue to increase in volume. in addition, the trend of product intelligence is significant, which will drive the penetration rate of new energy vehicles to continue to grow. product strength improvement and abundant supply are expected to continuously drive demand growth; on the demand side, under the catalysis of policies such as old-for-new, terminal consumer demand is also expected to be gradually released.
(this article was published in china economic weekly, issue 16, 2024)
