Chinese official pledges efforts to increase auto sales

BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese official pledged on Thursday to stabilize and expand auto sales this year as part of broader efforts to stimulate consumption.

Xu Xingfeng, an official with the Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference that the country will roll out policies to stabilize new car sales, support the purchase of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), and expand the circulation of used cars.

Measures will be taken to improve the NEV user experience from charging to license plate registration, while the construction of a nationwide second-hand car information inquiry platform will be accelerated, Xu said.

Car purchases contributed 10 percent of the country's total retail sales, and the figure will increase to nearly 15 percent when oil sales are taken into account.

Some 26.86 million new cars were sold in China in 2022, up 2.1 percent year on year, giving the country the world's largest sales figures. NEV sales last year nearly doubled.

Bolstering consumption has become China's policy priority. The consumer market maintained its sound growth momentum at the beginning of the year.

The ministry's data shows that the combined revenue of major retail and catering businesses went up 6.8 percent year on year during the past Spring Festival holiday.