Car sales in 2021 are expected to reach 26.3 million units.

    The strong recovery in the second half of the year has made the Chinese auto market expected to have a "smooth landing".

    On December 11, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (hereinafter referred to as "China Automobile Association") held the 2021 China Automobile Market Development Forecast Summit. Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said at the meeting that the domestic auto market sales this year is expected to be 25 million, and the growth rate is expected to narrow to -2%, better than expected.

    In the first quarter, the outbreak of the epidemic caused the auto market to "slam the brakes" deeply, with factories shutting down, dealers closing their accounts, and consumers staying behind closed doors. The China Automobile Association once adjusted its annual forecast to a year-on-year decline of 20%.

    According to data from the China Automobile Association, the auto market sales in the first half of this year were all negative growth year-on-year, of which the sales volume in February was only 285,000, a year-on-year decline of 79.1%. From January to June, the cumulative sales volume reached 10.257 million vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 16.9%.

    In the second half of the year, the auto market showed a clear recovery, achieving a high growth rate of around 8% for five consecutive months (July, August, September, October, and November). Cumulative sales in the first 11 months of this year reached 22.47 million, a year-on-year decrease of 2.9%, and the rate of decline narrowed by 1.8 percentage points from January to October.

    From -16.9% to -2.9%, the Chinese auto market showed a strong ability to "stop bleeding" in the second half of the year.

    Fu Bingfeng said: "The outstanding performance of the domestic passenger car market in the second half of this year was mainly due to the national and local governments’ promulgation of a series of policies to promote automobile consumption, including increasing quotas for passenger cars, subsidizing cars for trade-in, etc. The various forms of promotional activities launched have better released the automotive market demand and played a positive role in promoting the recovery of the automotive market."

    The new energy vehicle market, which was seriously left behind in the first half of the year, also ushered in a strong rebound in the second half of the year.

    According to data from the China Automobile Association, in November this year, the domestic sales of new energy vehicles reached 200,000, a year-on-year increase of 104.9%. In the first 11 months of this year, sales of new energy vehicles were 1.109 million units, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. The China Automobile Association believes that thanks to the government's support for new energy vehicles and the efforts of car companies on the product side and promotion side, the new energy vehicle market has recovered significantly in the second half of the year.

    Bai Hua, a second-level investigator of the Automobile Development Division of the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the summit: “At present, the country has built a total of 43,000 charging stations, 528 replacement stations, and 1.5 million charging piles of various types. Henglianghuan’s expressway fast charging network of approximately 49,000 kilometers. In addition, China’s new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for 5 consecutive years, with a cumulative promotion of more than 5 million vehicles, accounting for more than 50% of the world. Batteries, motors, electricity The three core technologies of control are basically independent and controllable, the power battery technology is the world's leading technology, and many models have a driving range of more than 500 kilometers."

    Bai Hua also revealed that in the near future, it will organize the implementation of the Action Plan for Promoting the Electricity of Vehicles in the Public Domain, launch a new round of car trips to the countryside, and continue to promote new energy vehicles to the countryside to guide user consumption.

    Thanks to the favorable market environment, the China Automobile Association made a short-term forecast for the Chinese auto market in 2020. The total annual car sales are expected to reach 25.3 million units, a year-on-year decrease of about 2%, of which passenger car sales are expected to be 20.2 million. The year-on-year decline was about 6%, and the sales of new energy vehicles were 1.3 million, an increase of about 8%.

    Total vehicle sales in 2021 are expected to reach 26.3 million units, a year-on-year increase of about 4%, of which passenger car sales are 21.7 million units, a year-on-year increase of about 7.5%, and new energy vehicle sales are 1.8 million units, a year-on-year increase of about 40%.

    It is worth mentioning that the new energy vehicle market, which has gradually plumped wings, has begun to have the "ability to walk independently." At the New Energy Smart Car Ecological Summit Forum held on December 13, Fu Bingfeng predicted that the subsidy policy for new energy vehicles will be completely withdrawn in 2-3 years.

    "Under the oil-electricity price gap, the full life cycle economy of new energy operating vehicles has fully surpassed that of fuel vehicles. With the withdrawal of subsidies, the battery cost reduction rate is lower than expected. In the short term, consumers will buy cars more expensive than equivalent fuel vehicles. , Will realize the first purchase parity without subsidy." Fu Bingfeng said.