China Raises Electric Vehicle Sales Target to 2.4 Million Units

October sales 321,000 units... China BYD, US Tesla ranked
Optimistic about surpassing 20% electric vehicle market share next year, semiconductor shortage expected to improve after February next year

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Despite the shortage of semiconductor chips for vehicles, sales of new energy vehicles such as electric cars are rising every month.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced that sales of new energy vehicles, including electric cars, totaled 321,000 units in October.

Photo by Global Times capture

The association added that the market share of new energy vehicles, including electric cars, reached 14.3% through October this year. During the same period last year, the market share was 5.8%.

The association explained that China’s electric vehicle sales target for this year has been revised upward from 2 million units to 2.4 million units. As of the end of October (cumulative), China’s electric vehicle sales totaled 2.14 million units, a 191.9% increase compared to the same period last year.

Tian Sihua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said, "Not only existing Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers but also emerging electric vehicle companies have been rushing to produce electric cars, resulting in a significant increase in electric vehicle sales," and predicted that China’s electric vehicle market share could surpass 20% next year (2022).

The Chinese government announced last year a blueprint to expand the sales proportion of new energy vehicles, including electric cars, to 25% by 2025. At the current pace, it is expected that the 25% sales share of new energy vehicles will be achieved around 2023, about two years ahead of the original target.

By brand, China’s BYD sold a total of 80,373 units in October, maintaining the top position for five consecutive months. The second place was taken by the U.S. Tesla, which sold 54,391 units last month. In terms of export performance, Tesla led with 40,666 units shipped, followed by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and BYD, which exported 6,659 and 1,026 units respectively, ranking second and third.

However, sales of conventional gasoline passenger cars in October decreased by 14.1% compared to the same month last year.

China Economic Net reported that regarding electric vehicle production in China, production of new energy vehicles including electric cars in Guangxi Province increased 3.4 times year-on-year through the third quarter of this year. Hebei Province also saw a 1.1 times increase in new energy vehicle production compared to the same period last year. As production increased, sales of new energy vehicles in Hunan Province and Tianjin City (cumulative through the third quarter) rose by 56.5% and 81.7% year-on-year, respectively.

Regarding the shortage of semiconductor chips for vehicles, Deputy Secretary-General Tian said, "It was initially expected that vehicle chip supply would increase by about 20% in October compared to the previous month, but in reality, it only increased by about 10%," and forecasted, "The shortage of vehicle chips is expected to be resolved after February next year, which is the off-season for automobiles, and the market will shift to demand-driven."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.