Chinese EV makers on course to smashing 8.5 million 2023 sales target for mainland, industry players and observers say

China’s 200 EV makers will need to sell another 4 million cars in the September-to-December period to meet the CPCA target of 8.5 million EVs sold

The target ‘can be achieved amid a new wave of promotional campaigns across the country’, Shanghai analyst says

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A Li L7 electric SUV by Li Auto is displayed at the Auto Shanghai show, in this file photo from April this year. Powerful Chinese players such as Li Auto and BYD are expected to rewrite their monthly delivery records in the last quarter of the year. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:30pm, 8 Oct 2023

China’s electric vehicle (EV) market, which already accounts for 60 per cent of the global total, is expected to maintain strong growth momentum in the fourth quarter of 2023, thanks to new launches and discounts offered by carmakers, industry players and observers said.

A sales boom between October and December – with powerful players such as BYD and Li Auto likely to rewrite their monthly delivery records several times over – would be enough for the country’s EV industry to achieve a lofty full-year growth target of 8.5 million EVs sold, which was set after a slow start in the first quarter by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), a national-level industry body.

“Some carmakers, hoping to turn their sales around, are adjusting their pricing and sales strategies,” said Cui Dongshu, CPCA’s general secretary. “The [government’s] efforts to promote EV use in rural areas will also stimulate purchases of electric cars, as more car shows and sales events are held there.”

China’s EV makers, including manufacturers of petrol-guzzlers that are struggling to migrate to EVs, delivered 4.44 million such vehicles to mainland Chinese customers from January to August, a 36 per cent year-on-year increase, CPCA data shows.

This means the country’s 200 EV makers will need to sell another 4 million cars in the world’s largest EV market in the September-to-December period to meet the CPCA target.

CPCA has not yet published sales data for September, but BYD and Li Auto said last week that their deliveries had hit an all-time high.