In November, Chinese automotive output hit a historic high, as did the production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), according to China Association of Automotive Manufacturers (CAAM) data.

China’s total vehicle production amounted to over 3.09 million units in the reporting month, up 7% month-on-month and 29.4% year-on-year, Kallanish notes. Production in the previous two months was also high but did not exceed the 2.91m vehicles produced in December 2021, let alone the previous record high of 3.08m vehicles in November 2017.

Passenger cars posted slower growth, but their November output also hit a record high at 2.71m units. Commercial car output grew faster y-o-y but was still lower than March this year when production was boosted by transportation demand after Covid restrictions were removed.

Between January and November, the country’s car production totalled 27.11m units, a year-on-year gain of 10%, the highest year-to-date growth except for in May. Passenger car and commercial vehicle output stood at 23.44m and 3.67m units respectively, up 8% and 25.4% from a year earlier.

In terms of NEVs, November output hit a record high for the fifth straight month, at 1.07m units, with the fastest on-year increase in the past six months. This took year-to-date output to a historic high of nearly 8.43m units, up 35% y-o-y. Meanwhile, monthly and y-t-d sales also jumped to historic highs at 1.03m and 8.3m units, up 30% and 37% y-o-y respectively.

In addition to NEVs, exports also contributed a lot to the industry this year. 11-month exports of Chinese vehicles surged 58.4% y-o-y to 4.41m units. Han Wenxiu from the Ministry of Finance predicted on Wednesday that China’s vehicle exports would exceed 5m units this year.

For the auto sector itself, CAAM expects production enthusiasm to continue in December, with sentiment supported by subsidy policies and promotional activities. Annual production and sales are expected to touch new highs.