This photo taken on Feb 24, 2023 shows the assembly line of GAC Aion, an NEV subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group), in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Xinhua
A number of Chinese new-energy vehicle (NEV) brands saw their shares continue to rise on both US and Chinese bourses on Tuesday after they posted strong sales figures for March.
Chinese experts believed that the strong sales performance of some leading NEV brands in March reflected the strong momentum in the further upgrading of China's manufacturing industry. The strong exports performance, despite headwinds, also reflected the competitiveness of Chinese NEVs, they noted.
Private enterprises continue to demonstrate their innovative capability, reflecting the resilience of the Chinese economy and recovering confidence of private enterprises, analysts pointed out.
Looking forward, experts believe that China's NEV sales will continue to post strong gains, with an expected high growth rate of around 20 percent in the first half of the year.
BYD, China's biggest electric vehicle (EV) maker, reported a 46.1 percent year-on-year rise in its March sales on Monday with 302,459 units sold. For the first quarter, the company sold 626,263 NEVs, up 13.44 percent.
China EV makers Nio, Li Auto and XPeng also reported March and first-quarter deliveries on Monday, meeting or just exceeding low expectations, according to media reports.
The strong sales posted by these brands were accompanied by news of the impressive entrance into the market by new brands such as Chinese smartphone and electronics maker Xiaomi.
The company, having debuted its SU7 electric car last week, now had bookings reaching 40,000 units, with backlog orders piled up for as long as eight months, according to media reports on Tuesday.
Under the spotlight of investors and global media outlets, the robust booking data send the company's shares up 8.97 percent to 16.28 Hong Kong dollars ($2.08) per share at the Hong Kong bourse on Tuesday. Xiaomi's market value during intraday trading once reached $7.6 billion, surpassing both GM and Ford, according to Reuters.
Some observers hailed Xiaomi's successful debut into an already crowded scene featuring fierce competition as one more example of the daring entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese private sector companies and a demonstration of recovering confidence by private companies.
The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Tuesday that it expects NEV sales to top 820,000 units in March, an increase of 33 percent year-on-year. Month-on-month, the increase is equal to 84 percent.
According to estimates by a CPCA executive, China's NEV sales accounted for 62 percent of global NEV sales in January and February, the Securities Times reported.
"As one of the tech-intensive and green 'new three' items, the robust growth of the NEV sector is an indication that the Chinese economy is off to a good start in the first quarter," Li Chang'an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
In a sign of a further recovery in manufacturing activity, China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index returned to expansion range with a reading of 50.8 in March after running below 50 for five consecutive months, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Sunday.
"The stellar performance of the sector signals China's global competitiveness when it comes to technology and innovation has further strengthened amid the nation's broader plan to develop new quality productive forces," Li said.
"China's NEV market is a highly competitive sector and the performance by leading NEV brands underlined the resilience of China's industrial upgrade," Wu Shuocheng, a veteran automobile analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"Against protectionist headwinds in some markets, the competitiveness of Chinese companies remained strong," Wu said.
As the Chinese economy continues to recover, Wu expected NEV sales to register a 20 percent year-on-year growth for the first half of the year with overall sales of passenger vehicles growing by around 5 percent.
Analysts also urged the US and the EU to stop their crackdown tactics against China's new-energy industry, including the NEV sector, as Chinese NEVs are a contributing, not an undermining, factor for their climate goals.
Protectionist measures taken against Chinese EVs will not improve their competitiveness for their respective auto industries and will undermine their efforts in realizing climate goals, Li said, noting that the noises of decoupling on NEV could not obstruct the rise of Chinese NEV, which is driven by market competition, devotion to innovation and supply chain advantage.
The US and the EU should seek cooperation with China on NEVs so as to tap the great complementarities, rather than taking a protectionist path, analysts said.
由于此前公布了3月份的强劲的销售数据，本周二，一些中国新能源汽车（NEV）品牌在美国和中国交易所的股价继续上涨。
中国专家认为，3月份部分新能源汽车龙头品牌的强劲销售表现，反映出中国制造业进一步升级的强劲势头。他们指出，尽管面临不利因素，但强劲的出口表现也反映了中国新能源汽车的竞争力。
分析人士指出，民营企业继续展示其创新能力，反映出中国经济的韧性和民营企业信心的恢复。展望未来，专家认为，中国新能源汽车销量将继续保持强劲增长，预计今年上半年将实现20%左右的高增长率。
中国最大的电动汽车（EV）制造商比亚迪周一报告称，其3月份的销量同比增长46.1%，售出302,459辆。第一季度新能源汽车销量为626,263辆，同比增长13.44%。
据媒体报道，中国电动汽车制造商蔚来汽车、理想汽车和小鹏汽车周一也公布了3月和第一季度的交付量，达到或略高于低预期。
在这些品牌销售强劲的同时，中国智能手机和电子产品制造商小米也进入了电动汽车市场。据媒体周二报道，小米公司上周推出了 SU7 电动汽车，现在的预订量已达到 40,000 辆，积压订单长达 8 个月。
在投资者和全球媒体的聚光灯下，强劲的预订数据使该公司股价周二在香港交易所上涨8.97%，至每股16.28港元（2.08美元）。据路透社报道，小米在盘中交易中的市值一度达到76亿美元，超过了通用汽车和福特。一些观察家称赞小米在竞争激烈的竞争中成功亮相，这是中国私营企业大胆创业精神的又一例证，也是民营企业恢复信心的证明。
中国乘用车协会（CPCA）周二表示，预计3月份新能源汽车销量将超过82万辆，同比增长33%。按月计算，增幅为84%。《证券时报》称，据CPCA一位高管估计，1月和2月，中国新能源汽车销量占全球新能源汽车销量的62%。对外经济贸易大学中国开放经济研究院教授李长安周二告诉《环球时报》“作为科技密集型和绿色'新三'项目之一，新能源汽车行业的强劲增长表明中国经济在第一季度开局良好，”
国家统计局周日公布的数据显示，中国官方制造业采购经理人指数在连续五个月低于50后，3月份重返扩张区间，上升至50.8。
“这一行业的出色表现表明，中国在技术和创新方面的全球竞争力在国家发展新的优质生产力的更广泛计划中进一步加强，”李克强说。
“中国新能源汽车市场是一个竞争激烈的行业，领先新能源汽车品牌的表现凸显了中国产业升级的韧性，”资深汽车分析师吴硕成周二告诉《环球时报》。“在一些市场的保护主义逆风下，中国公司的竞争力仍然很强，” 随着中国经济的持续复苏，吴硕成预计今年上半年新能源汽车销量将同比增长20%，乘用车整体销量将增长5%左右。
分析人士还倡议美国和欧盟停止对中国新能源产业（包括新能源汽车行业）的打压策略，因为中国新能源汽车是实现其气候目标的一个促成因素，而不是破坏因素。
李克强表示，针对中国电动汽车采取的保护主义措施不会提高其在各自汽车行业的竞争力，反而会破坏其实现气候目标的努力，并指出新能源汽车脱钩的声音不会阻碍中国新能源汽车的崛起，这是由市场竞争、对创新的投入和供应链优势驱动的。
分析人士表示，美国和欧盟应该寻求与中国在新能源汽车方面的合作，以挖掘巨大的互补性，而不是走保护主义的道路。
