China’s new-vehicle market is rebounding strongly for the second straight month in July behind eased government anti-pandemic measures and a tax break on gasoline-powered cars, the China Automobile Dealers Association said.
Retail sales of passenger vehicles including sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles industrywide will rally 18 percent from a year earlier to 1.77 million in July, the trade group predicts.
The forecast is based on a survey it conducted earlier this month, with around 80 percent of carmakers expecting to see double-digit sales growth in July, CADA said.
Demand for electrified passenger vehicles including full electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles remains strong, with retail sales expected to surge 103 percent to around 450,000 in July, the trade group added.
In June, retail sales of sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles rebounded 23 percent to top 1.94 million. Deliveries of electrified passenger vehicles soared 131 percent to some 531,000, according to CADA’s tally.
The sharp recovery comes after Shanghai came out of a two-month lockdown and the central Chinese government rolled out a six-month tax incentive for gasoline vehicles on June 1.
Under the incentive program, sales taxes are halved at 5 percent for new gasoline cars with engine sizes of up to 2.0 liters and priced at 300,000 yuan ($44,418) or below.