China's automotive sector, where China has built a competitive advantage, has witnessed unprecedented sales in June amid the continuous recovery of the economy, which offers valuable opportunities for both domestic and foreign players to thrive during the post-COVID era.
Many domestic carmakers, including both traditional and emerging players, have reported record-high sales in June.
BYD topped the list by delivering 253,046 vehicles to customers in the month, a surge of 88.2 percent year-on-year, the company disclosed on Sunday.
As a leading domestic producer of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), BYD sold 240,535 NEVs in June. The company has sold over 4.6 million NEVs as of the end of June, the carmaker said.
GAC Group's new-energy brand Aion ranked second with 45,013 NEV sales. Besides the traditional players, emerging NEV manufacturers also reported booming sales. Li Auto, for example, saw its monthly sales exceed 30,000 for the first time in June.
Many other emerging players including Leap Motor, Hozon Auto, Nio Inc all reported over 10,000 vehicle deliveries in the month, according to media reports.
Foreign players represented by US-based Tesla are also thriving in the booming China market. According to a statement the NEV maker sent to the Global Times, Tesla beat market expectations and delivered a total of 466,140 vehicles globally in the second quarter, surging 83 percent year-on-year.
Tesla's Model Y has been the bestseller for many consecutive months in China. Citing data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla said it delivered over 50,000 Model Y cars in the market in May, up 152 percent year-on-year. The company's sales data in June has not been disclosed yet.
"Given the strong performance in June, the monthly car sales in China is expected to hit a new record," CPCA secretary general Cui Dongshu told the Global Times on Monday.
The automotive industry is still gaining steam as China has been rolling out measures to support consumer spending and the comprehensive development of the auto industry, Cui said, forecasting that the momentum will persist in the following months of the year.
Not only the NEV production in China has become an economic driver domestically, it has developed prominent advantages across the global industry, Cui stressed. He noted that domestic passenger car sales have been significantly exceeding the sales in Europe and North America.
Like many other industries, global auto producers have realized the indispensability of the Chinese market and senior executives of foreign auto giants have started their trips to China in recent months.
Mary Barra, chief executive officer of US-based General Motors, made her China visit in May, vowing to further deepen cooperation with Chinese partners to invest on the innovative development of NEVs and intelligent connected vehicles, according to media reports.
Tesla's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk also made his first visit to China since the pandemic on May 30. During his 44-hour intensive trip to China, he met several Chinese senior officials and clearly expressed his company's objection to "decoupling" and its willingness to further expand businesses in China.
Traditional European auto giants have been betting on the Chinese market as well. Direct investment by European companies in China's automotive sector reached 6.2 billion euros ($6.75 billion) last year, drawing stark contrast to the 1.5 billion euros investments in other sectors, according to data compiled by US consulting company Rhodium.
（Picture: Veer）
