Fitch Ratings-Shanghai-25 January 2021: Stronger-than-expected sales of passenger new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in 4Q20 helped China's passenger vehicle market to continue to recover, Fitch Ratings says in a new report.
Sales of PVs rose 9.4% in the last quarter of 2020, which helped to limit the fall in full-year sales to 6.0%, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed. Passenger NEV deliveries more than doubled in 4Q20 and NEVs' penetration in the PV market hit a record high of 8.6% in 4Q20.
The stellar electric vehicle (EV) sales were mainly driven by strong consumer demand for high-end EVs, after Tesla cut prices for its Model 3 in October 2020 and Chinese EV start-ups ramped up deliveries. It was also helped by strong growth in low-end EV sales in rural areas and lower-tier cities. Model 3 was the best-selling EV in China in 2020 and also ranked top among luxury car models in 4Q20. Demand from EV fleet operators also recovered sharply, as many cities accelerated deployment of e-taxis and electric ride-hailing cars at end-2020.
Vehicle battery demand, however, merely edged up 2.3%, dragged by a decrease in production of commercial NEVs. CATL retained half of the China market, while LG Chem and Panasonic ranked among the top-10 as the third and sixth largest suppliers.
Strong EV sales helped Chinese proprietary brands to regain some market share in 4Q20, while German brands' performance weakened due to chip supply shortages.
Source Fitch Ratings