China’s electric car sales face uncertainty as Covid-19 outbreak forces Tesla, Nio to suspend production, after industry bounced back in March

Name: Shanghai’s citywide Covid-19 lockdown spurs race to stockpile food across China
Uploaded: 2022-04-11T11:04:11.000Z
Duration: 1 min 27 s
Description: Shanghai’s citywide Covid-19 lockdown spurs race to stockpile food across China

The country’s EV manufacturers reported sales of 455,000 units last month, up 43.6 per cent from February

But the turnaround may be short-lived, said analysts, as the Covid-19 pandemic in Shanghai and at some production bases disrupts production

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Tesla sold 65,814 Model 3 and Model Y cars in mainland China in March, up 85 per cent on the year, according to the CPCA. Photo: Reuters

Daniel Ren

Published: 7:04pm, 11 Apr 2022Updated: 7:08pm, 11 Apr 2022

China’s new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector rebounded sharply in March as carmakers managed to get hold of enough components in the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak to ramp up production to meet surging demand.

But the turnaround may be short-lived, said analysts, as the Covid-19 pandemic in Shanghai and at some production bases disrupts the supply chain and production.

The country’s NEV manufacturers reported sales of 455,000 units last month, up 43.6 per cent from February, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reported on Monday.

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 122.4 per cent.

February’s sales had been hit hard by a shortfall of components and lower demand during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

In March, sales of NEVs – a term encapsulating pure electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell cars – made up a quarter of deliveries of new cars in the mainland.

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Shanghai’s citywide Covid-19 lockdown spurs race to stockpile food across China