Domestic automakers meet annual sales targets in advance by November; BYD's year-to-date sales top some brands' global sales

People visit the 2024 Hainan Autumn Auto Show in Hainan International Conference and Exhibition Center in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Sept. 16, 2024. About 70 percent of the exhibited vehicles were new-energy vehicles. (Photo/Xinhua)

As the November sales of cars in the domestic market were released on Monday, 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 percent year-on-year, accounting for 17.1 percent of the car market, topping among all car manufacturers and new-energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturers, according to statistics released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Monday.

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 outsell 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 percent year-on-year, according to open data. The company, in the first quarter, revealed that the sales target for 2024 has 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 percent year-on-year, totaling 78,856 units, accounting for 2.7 percent 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 percent of the 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 percent month-on-month and continued to hit a new high, showing explosive growth as the effect trade-in program gradually showed, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the CPCA, told the Global Times on Monday.

According to data released by the CPCA, the cumulative retail sales of passenger cars in China totaled 20.257 million units so far this year, an increase of 4.7 percent year-on-year.

In November, the retail sales in the domestic passenger car market reached 2.423 million units, an increase of 16.5 percent. Of which, the retail sales of new-energy passenger vehicles reached 1.268 million units in November, up 50.5 percent year-on-year, meaning that 52.3 percent, more than half, of the passenger cars sold in November were NEVs.

NEVs as a portion of monthly retail sales surpassed 50 percent 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.