At a smart factory of Hefei Chang’an Automobile Co., Ltd. in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province, more than 100 automatic guided vehicles are running smoothly and nearly 400 welding robots are working efficiently.

(Photo/Xinhua)

“Since August, our factory has added over 1,700 jobs and ensured uninterrupted production in three shifts,” said Huang Lejin, general manager of the factory, adding that 114,000 passenger cars under Chang’an Automobile’s brand were sold in November, up 36.4 percent year-on-year.

The continuous hot sales of Chang’an autos are merely a mirror of the strong recovery of China’s auto market.

In November, China’s auto production and sales volume reached 2.85 million and 2.77 million, with a year-on-year increase of 9.6 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively, marking a growth for eight consecutive months. It was the seventh straight month that the country’s auto sales saw double-digit year-on-year growth.

In February, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers forecast an annual decline of 25 percent in China’s auto production and sales, respectively, according to Ye Shengji, deputy secretary-general of the association.

In the January to November period, China’s total auto output and sales stood at 22.4 million and 22.5 million, down 3 percent and 2.9 percent year-on-year, respectively, Ye said, adding that the decrease narrowed about 14 percentage points from that in the first half of year.

China’s vehicle sales are expected to total 25 million this year, narrowing the gap with last year to 2 percent, with the recovery turning out to be much better than expected, said Fu Bingfeng, the association’s executive vice-president.

China has taken a series of effective measures to boost the resumption of work, production and business activities, minimizing the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, according to Fu.

Fu added that the central and local governments have rolled out a series of policies to facilitate vehicle sales, contributing to the recovery of the country’s passenger car market.

Sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in China also posted robust growth in November, with about 200,000 units sold, up 104.9 percent year-on-year. The sales of NEVs exceeded 1.1 million in the first 11 months, an increase of 3.9 percent from a year ago.

In November, commercial vehicle output and sales in China amounted to 518,000 units and 472,000 units, up 20.3 percent and 18 percent year-on-year.

More than 5 million commercial vehicles are expected to be sold this year, said Wang Fan, an executive from Dongfeng Motor Corporation, predicting that the sales will maintain the growth momentum in the first quarter of next year.