The persistent semiconductor chip shortage has dragged down new-vehicle deliveries in China for four months in a row.
August new-vehicle deliveries plunged 18 percent industrywide from a year earlier to below 1.8 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Friday.
Sales of new light vehicles -- sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses -- dropped 12 percent to 1.55 million.
On July 1 China upgraded emission rules on diesel vehicles including heavy-duty trucks to the State 6 standards, which are on par with the Euro 6 rules.
Dented by the chip shortage and tougher emission rules, deliveries of new commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses tumbled 43 percent to some 247,000, according to the estimates of the top industry group.
Shored up by the 77 percent rebound in the first quarter from the coronavirus-battered same period of 2020, new-vehicle sales by automakers in China rose 14 percent from a year earlier to approach 16.6 million in the first seven months.
In the period, deliveries of light vehicles jumped 16 percent to 13.11 million while the volume of commercial vehicles gained 5.5 percent to 3.44 million.
Electrified vehicles
In contrast to the overall market, electrified vehicle sales stayed robust, surging 180 percent from a year earlier to around 321,000 in August.
The tally includes some 265,000 full-electric vehicles and 56,000 plug-in hybrids, a jump of 190 percent and 170 percent, respectively.
Through August, the new electrified-vehicle market expanded 190 percent to nearly 1.8 million.
The number includes about 1.49 million EVs and 306,000 plug-in hybrids, advancing 210 percent and 140 percent from a year earlier, respectively.
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