China’s new-vehicle market staged a strong rebound in June after a two-month pandemic-triggered lockdown was lifted in Shanghai and new government incentives were launched early in the month.
New car and light-truck shipments industrywide rose an estimated 21 percent to 2.45 million last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Wednesday.
The tally also represents a surge of 34 percent from May volume, the trade group added.
Reflecting steep declines in April and May, when Shanghai and other areas were under strict lockdowns to contain COVID-19 outbreaks, new-vehicle sales through June dropped 7.1 percent year on year to roughly 12 million, according to CAAM’s estimates.
To revive the market in the wake of the latest coronavirus outbreak, Beijing on June 1 halved vehicle sales taxes to 5 percent for new gasoline light vehicles with engine sizes of up to 2.0 liters and priced at 300,000 yuan ($44,709) or below.
The tax cut will remain effective until the end of the year.
Provincial and municipal governments across the country have also rolled out subsidies ranging from 5,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan to encourage local consumers to replace gasoline cars with full-electric vehicles.