New-vehicle shipments rebound 28% in May

Wholesale deliveries of new vehicles industrywide rose 28 percent to 2.38 million in May, extending the rebound from the pandemic-battered year-earlier period, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Friday.

Last month, shipments of new light vehicles including sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses advanced 26 percent to 2.05 million. 

Wholesale deliveries of new commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks jumped 38 percent to 330,000. 

Through May, new-vehicle shipments industrywide gained 11 percent from a year earlier to exceed 10.6 million, with light-vehicle volume increasing 11 percent to 9 million while commercial-vehicle demand grew 14 percent to 1.62 million.

Electrified vehicle demand remains explosive, with May shipments surging 60 percent to approach 717,000.

Shipments of full electric vehicles expanded 50 percent to some 522,000 last month while plug-in hybrid volume spiked 94 percent to about 194,000.

As of May, new electrified vehicle shipments industrywide jumped 43 percent to exceed 2.94 million. 

In the period, EV shipments climbed 35 percent to 2.15 million while plug-in hybrid volume surged 91 percent to around 793,000.

China’s vehicle exports continue to gain momentum on overseas demand for electrified vehicles. 

In May, automakers shipped roughly 389,000 vehicles from China, a 59 percent jump from a year earlier. The export volume included some 108,000 electrified models, a jump of 150 percent from a year earlier.

Light-vehicle exports rose 66 percent to 325,000 in May while commercial-vehicle exports rose 29 percent to roughly 63,000.

Through May, China’s vehicle exports surged 82 percent to 1.76 million. The number includes 457,000 electrified products, a 160 percent jump from a year earlier.

In the first five months, light-vehicle exports spiked 97 percent to 1.47 million while commercial-vehicle exports advanced 31 percent to some 291,000.