EV sales plunge in China

Coronavirus is being partly blamed for China’s slump in EV sales, with vehicle stock and parts shortages expected elsewhere as a result of plant closures.

The Chinese automakers’ association CPCA predicts the sale of new vehicles could fall by as much as 50% in February, following a disastrous January that saw sales plunge 20%, Forbes reports. And the market for EVs is expected to be even worse.

BAIC was the top EV seller in China in 2019, with its BJEV model outselling any other electric car with 150,000 cars sold, but it posted a 54.5% year-on-year decline in BEV sales in January, which Forbes describes as a “brutal” month for China’s car industry.

BYD also posted a bad January, its EV sales falling more than 68% in the month, while sales of its internal combustion engine (ICE) cars rose 18% in January – not the sort of trend people were expecting, Forbes adds.

NIO reported just 1598 cars sold in January, only 105 of which were its top-of-the-line ES8 SUVs.

Tesla sales figures for China are unavailable, but CleanTechnica reports Tesla’s Shanghai plant was temporarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

China was supposed to be EV boom heaven, but overseas media say it’s not looking that way, especially after the country reduced or removed government incentives for EV purchasers (mainly short range ones) last year, prompting a sales slump from which it appeared to be recovering until the coronavirus hit.

That’s left new vehicle suppliers in New Zealand and Australia bracing for stock shortages after many Chinese plants appeared to have closed in response to the virus.

New Zealand Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford is reported as expecting a new vehicle and parts shortage later this year as a result, saying it will have a global impact.