A worker checks Audi cars at FAW-Volkswagen vehicles' parking lot in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, July 9, 2019. The Sino-German auto joint venture FAW-Volkswagen said a record 311,871 Audi vehicles were sold in China in the first half of 2019, up 2.1 percent year-on-year. (Photo:Xinhua)

Car sales in July went up despite the impact of COVID-19 in the first half of the year according to industry associations, and both traditional and new energy vehicles (NEV) saw a positive growth in sales. 

According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s car sales increased 16.4 percent year-on-year in July to 2.11 million. 

In the same month, China’s NEV production increased 15.6 percent to 100,000 and sales were up 19.3 percent to 98,000, compared to the same period last year. This is also the first positive growth seen in NEV production and sales so far this year. 

Total sales in the NEV market in China are expected to reach 1.1 million for the whole year of 2020, and Tesla, the US NEV maker, is expected to sell 100,000 vehicles in China in 2020, according to estimates by the CAAM. 

Among Chinese car companies, sales in July have continued to increase year-on-year. Geely remained at the top with 105,000 car sales, and BYD achieved monthly positive growth for the first time this year, with a slight increase of 1.3 percent. 

For domestic NEV manufacturers, sales of NIO and Xpeng have also remained above 2,000.

Global Times