As the November sales of cars in the domestic market were released, several Chinese car companies have met their annual sales targets ahead of schedule by November. In particular, BYD's sales so far this year outsell some of the largest car manufacturers in the world, such as Ford and Honda. In November, BYD's wholesale sales reached 504,003 units, up 67.2% year-on-year, accounting for 17.1% of the car market, surpassing all car manufacturers and new-energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturers, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). From January to November 2024, BYD's cumulative sales volume totaled 3.7573 million, which completed the annual target of 3.624 million in advance, according to the corporate release. BYD's 11-month sales overtook the global sales of Ford, which stood at 1.887 million, according to data released by Ford on December 4. BYD's sales also surpassed Honda's year-to-date sales in 2024.
Geely's November sales totaled about 250,136 units, up 27% year-on-year. The company in the first quarter revealed that the sales target for 2024 had been increased to 2 million from the previous 1.9 million. The cumulative sales of Geely in the year reached 1.967 million units, meaning that the 2 million sales target is within reach. According to CPCA data, Tesla's November wholesale sales dropped 4.3% year-on-year, totaling 78,856 units, accounting for 2.7% of total car sales in China. Still, its sales ranked No 5 among NEV manufacturers and ranked No 10 among all automakers. Volkswagen's two joint ventures with SAIC and FAW Group sold 289,000 cars in China's wholesale market in November, accounting for 9.8% of total sales.
In November, retail sales, wholesale sales, production and exports of passenger cars reached a record high. The retail sales of NEVs increased by 5.9% month-on-month and continued to hit a new high, showing explosive growth as the effects of the trade-in program gradually emerged, Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the CPCA, told the Global Times. The cumulative retail sales of passenger cars in China totaled 20.257 million units so far this year, an increase of 4.7% year-on-year. In November, the retail sales in the domestic passenger car market reached 2.423 million units, an increase of 16.5%. Retail sales of new-energy passenger vehicles reached 1.268 million units in November, up 50.5% year-on-year, meaning that 52.3%, more than half, of the passenger cars sold in November were NEVs. NEVs as a portion of monthly retail sales surpassed 50% for five consecutive months since July, meaning that in China, a majority of consumers opted for NEVs when purchasing passenger cars and that sales of new-energy passenger cars surpassed those of gasoline-powered cars, the Global Times reports.
The South China Morning Post adds that Jiyue, a premium electric vehicle (EV) maker backed by Chinese search-engine firm Baidu, will downsize its operations while pursuing fresh capital to withstand vicious competition. Projects that do not improve the company’s financial health will be scrapped, and some business units will be merged to avoid redundancy of human resources, the Shanghai-based carmaker said. “We will make all-out efforts to focus on our goals to improve efficiency in operation and management. All measures will be taken to adapt to the new situation amid the rebirth of the company,” according to the statement. There are more than 50 major players in the Chinese EV market. CEO Xia Yiping admitted that the company was under pressure to stay afloat, and that a drastic revamp of existing operating units would be pivotal to Jiyue’s fate.
