China exported 424,000 new-energy passenger vehicles in May, up 112.6% from a year earlier and 4.4% from April, according to the China Passenger Car Association, an industry body.

New-energy vehicles made up 54.1% of passenger-vehicle exports.

The figures show exports are growing faster than demand at home.

China’s passenger-car retail sales in May fell 20% year on year to 1.545 million units, while new-energy vehicle retail sales slipped 5% to 974,000 units, marking a fifth straight monthly decline.

Battery electric vehicles accounted for 59.3% of new-energy vehicle exports, down from 66.1% a year earlier.

A00 and A0 models, China’s smallest city-car segments, made up 53.8% of battery electric vehicle exports. In China, new-energy vehicles include BEVs, plug-in hybrids, and fuel-cell vehicles.

The China Passenger Car Association said Chinese carmakers expanded further into Latin America and Europe, offsetting softer demand in the Middle East.

It expects China’s auto market to post only a modest recovery in June.

In Europe, European Union tariffs of up to 45.3% on Chinese battery electric vehicles, but not hybrids, have encouraged some carmakers to ship more hybrids instead.

🔗 Source: Xinhua