China’s Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Sales Surge

Sales of plugin hybrid electric vehicles are soaring in the Chinese market. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, the cumulative sales in the third quarter of this year were 960,000 units, which doubled from a year earlier. This accounts for 22% of the total sales of new energy cars. In September alone, it accounted for 25 per cent.

The China Passenger Association analyzed that more and more users are purchasing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles because the charging infrastructure is not yet sufficient and the mileage of battery electric vehicles is still limited.

China’s plugin hybrid electric vehicles stood at around 200,000 a year from 2018 until 2018.

What is unique is that global players who have entered the Chinese market are investing heavily in battery electric vehicles, while BYD, Gili Motors, and Changcheng Motors in China are increasing their lineup of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

BYD saw its sales of plugin hybrid electric vehicles triple to 106,000 units in September from the same period last year. By the third quarter, the cumulative number increased by 207% to 593,000. This is 100,000 more than battery electric vehicles.

In response, China Daily predicted that the suspension of government subsidies for new energy vehicles would raise the price of battery electric vehicles, which would turn consumers around with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.