China’s new passenger vehicle (PV) sales in March 2021 is expected to grow by 66pc to 1.74mn units from the year before and by 47.5pc as compared to the prior month (February), according to local media reports citing the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Passenger vehicles include passenger cars, SUVs, and MPVs.
PV sales in the first two weeks of March fell by 3.1pc as compared to the same period in the preceding year. In the first week of the month, however, PV sales grew by 2.4pc to 195,000 units, while it stood at 216,000 units in the second week, registering a drop of 9.1pc.
The association said China’s PV sales in the third and fourth weeks are projected to decline by 6.6pc and 2.2pc to 240,000 units and 440,000 units, respectively.
The association said that how the PV sales will perform in the last few weeks of March remains to be seen because of the increase in car prices and consumers’ sentiments due to the shortage of car models caused by semiconductor chip shortages.
With the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), China’s auto market is expected to get favorable support in 2021.
Local authorities in China’s northern region, where COVID-19 cases emerged in early 2021, have granted subsidies for new car purchases and replacement of old cars. This is expected to boost car sales in the region, the association informed.
China’s new vehicle sales had surged 364.8pc to 1.45mn units in February 2021, as per data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).