By Jiahui Huang


China's vehicle sales rose sharply in December, helped by government subsidies and year-end promotions as companies raced to hit annual sales targets in the world's largest auto market.

Retail sales of passenger cars rose 12.0% to 2.64 million vehicles in December from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association said Thursday. Sales expanded 8.7% from November.

The strong sales came as the Chinese government's trade-in subsidies boosted auto demand last year, especially for the last few months of 2024, as automakers aimed to reach their annual sales target with some front-loaded demand.

Retail sales of new-energy cars, a category in China that refers mainly to battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, made up 47.6% of all passenger-vehicle sales in 2024, the CPCA said. NEVs are the most widely sold category of vehicles in China, after surpassing internal-combustion-engine cars for the first time last summer.

China exported 404,000 passenger cars in December, up 6% from a year ago and up 2% from November. Exports of NEVs rose 21.5% from a year earlier.

Tesla delivered 93,766 cars made at its Shanghai plant to Chinese buyers, and exported 10,839 units.

The CPCA said year-end demand was boosted by trade-in programs at both central and local government levels that encouraged consumers to upgrade their vehicles. The December frenzy helped lift full-year sales to 22.89 million vehicles, 5.5% higher than for 2023, it added.

Looking ahead, the CPCA said Chinese automakers could face slower sales in January given the front-loading effect from December auto demand. In addition, as the trade-in program has just been extended to this year, consumers may stay in wait-and-see mode in January, it said.


Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-09-25 0348ET