Li Auto, Xpeng pace Chinese EV makers in race towards 2023 sales record amid ‘all-time high’ monthly deliveries
- Wholesale deliveries hit a record 940,000 units in November, up 6.5 per cent from a record set in October, industry body CPCA estimates
- ‘Every carmaker is making a dash to the year-end as they try to meet their sales targets,’ CPCA official says
Deliveries of EVs to dealers hit an all-time high of 940,000 units in November, up 6.5 per cent from the previous record of 883,000 units set in October, according to an official estimate released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Monday evening.
That translates to a 35 per cent year-on-year increase in wholesale deliveries to 7.74 million units through the first 11 months of 2023. The CPCA predicted in mid-2023 that a total of 8.5 million pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars would be delivered to dealers between January and December, a 30.8 per cent increase over 2022.
“Preliminary sales data for November has shown encouraging signs that the Chinese EV market is recovering on a solid footing,” said Zhao Zhen, a sales director with Shanghai-based dealer Wan Zhuo Auto. “The EV sector has reason to cheer for sterling gains in the second half of 2023.”
Cui Dongshu, the association’s general secretary, said that in October alone, two-thirds of new EVs taking to the streets worldwide were sold in mainland China. “Every carmaker is making a dash to the year-end as they try to meet their sales targets,” he said.