Yang Jian

The rivalry between domestic Chinese automakers, brewing on and off for years, reached a new high this week, with light-truck giant Great Wall publicly alleging BYD's two top selling plug-in hybrids don't meet emissions standards. 

Retail sales of new passenger vehicles surged 41 percent in the first three weeks of May as the market continued to rebound from the same pandemic-hit period last year, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association. 

The number of used vehicles financed has finally tied that of new-vehicle financing in China, each hitting a record high of 64 percent in 2022, according to J.D. Power.

The Chinese market for secondhand light vehicle rebounded for a third consecutive month in April, helped by favorable comparisons to the year-earlier period when draconian pandemic controls disrupted demand and sales.

Volkswagen Group’s China deliveries spiked 79 percent to 255,700 last month in tandem with a strong rebound in the broader market. 

BMW Group will start producing its next-generation of electric vehicles, dubbed Neue Klasse, in the northeast China city of Shenyang in 2026, giving a major boost to its EV product lineup in the world’s biggest light-vehicle market. 

SAIC-GM promoted Zhuang Jingxiong, vice president of sales, to president, underscoring the joint venture’s need to jumpstart volume as the China market pivots to electric vehicles. 

Sales at Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. showed no signs of recovery in April despite a strong rebound in the overall Chinese car market from a year earlier.

Wholesale new-vehicles shipments in China bounced back to approach 2.16 million in April, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.

Stockpiles at new-vehicle dealerships dropped to a 45-day supply in April from 53 days the previous month, the China Automobile Dealers Association said on Thursday. 

Surge reflects rebound from April 2022, when Shanghai, China’s largest city and auto production hub, was locked down to contain a new way of coronavirus infections.

Tesla raised the price of the two models it assembles in China, the Model 3 and Model Y, by 2,000 yuan ($289) on May 2.

Li Auto has widened its lead over other Chinese electric-vehicle startups in sales so far this year, reflecting an expanded product line.

Sales at BYD, China’s largest electrified-vehicle maker, spiked 98 percent to 210,295 in April. The tally largely reflects 209,467 passenger vehicle sales, which jumped 99 percent from a year earlier. 

Volvo Car’s China sales in April rebounded 46 percent from the year-earlier period when deliveries were disrupted by strict pandemic control measures such as a lockdown of Shanghai.