BEIJING (Reuters) – Half of all vehicles sold in China in July were hybrid or pure electric vehicles, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Thursday.
The milestone represents a significant step that illustrates the lead the world’s largest automotive market has taken over its Western counterparts in the adoption of electric vehicles.
Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) jumped 37 percent last month from the same period a year earlier, reaching a record 50.7 percent share of car sales, according to CPCA data.
Growth in EV sales also accelerated after a 28.6% increase in June. Sales of pure electric vehicles increased by 14.3% in July, after 9.9% in June.
However, overall car sales fell 3.1%, the fourth consecutive month of declines, with consumer confidence weak as the economy struggles to gain momentum amid a prolonged housing market slump.
The weak auto market prompted China’s state planning agency to announce in late July that cash subsidies for vehicle purchases would be doubled to 20,000 yuan ($2,800) per purchase, and would be retroactive to April, when the subsidies were first introduced.
In addition, some cities that had restricted car purchases have moved to ease restrictions. China’s capital, for example, announced last month that it would propose increasing the quota of NEV permits by 20,000, the first easing of restrictions since a strict quota system was put in place in 2011 to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality.
(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Kevin Krolicki; by Elena Smirnova; edited by Augustin Turpin)
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