China holds the biggest automobile market in the world at the moment. But, somehow it seems that its car sales for April have dramatically decreased to almost 48%.
According to the latest report, the lockdown in the country, which lasted for a few weeks, has contributed to the decline in the monthly sales volume of the cars.
Chinese Automobile Sales Decline
According to the latest report by Nikkei Asia, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released a tally on Wednesday, May 12, regarding the recorded sales for the vehicles last month. In April, there was a sharp decline in the sales of passenger cars.
The report also notes that the first four months of 2022 have been crucial in the change in sales of automobiles. The sales have plunged to 12% in China, per CAAM.
It is evident that China continues to manufacture the next-gen vehicles in the form of EVs. There's a lot of potentials that we see in these cars. Most importantly, we expect more homegrown companies to flourish in this industry.
For the month of April, the plug-in hybrids saw a 45% increase in sales. That's twice the sales of cars for the said quarter of 2021.
BYD Dominates the Chinese Car Brands
Speaking of the skyrocketing car sales, Nikkei Asia reports that BYD is currently in the top spot among other Chinese brands. The article says that the company has managed to compete with Tesla amid issues with supply constraints.
It should be noted that the company is also manufacturing EV batteries in April, which accounts for 32%. It is second to the 38% of CATL based on the data released by the China Automotive and Battery Innovation Alliance.
When it comes to shares, BYD garners 8.3%, while CATL is behind at a flat 8%.
Related Article : US EV Sales See a Record-Breaking Profit Last Quarter, But Will It Continue to Grow?
Tesla Sales Sink Anew
Per Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, the COVID-19 restrictions that are happening across China have impacted their Chinese car sales during the period.
"I had conversations with the Chinese government in recent days and it's clear that the lockdowns are being lifted rapidly," the tech boss said.
Speaking of which, the electric vehicle company managed to sell 1,512 models in China last April. However, it has suffered from a huge decline compared to the March data.
The China Passenger Association shows that the record sales were down to 98% in April. That's a lot since Tesla produced 10,757 vehicles last month while it posted 55,462 sales in March.
Amid the pandemic, the demand for EVs is consistently strong, according to CNN. The sales have been ahead by 15% by February 2022. If the restrictions could be alleviated, the record could shoot up more.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
