China Becomes First Country to Hit 1 Million EV Sales in a Month

China has become the first country in the world to cross the 1 million mark in EV sales in a month, according to the research firm Rho Motion. The country that barely had any presence in the ICE market invested massively in the Electrification project. It gave massive subsidies to people for buying EVs along with the incentives to the EV makers. 

China’s Stellar EV Growth 

This record 1 million sale is a 33 per cent YoY growth over the same month of the previous year. This breaks the record of the December 2023 market sales by around 70,000 cars. In July, the China Passenger Car Association reported that a record-breaking 50.7% of cars bought in China were New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), which include both electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. In this, too, there has been an increasing demand for homegrown companies. This is evident by the fact that, According to Dunne Insights, foreign automakers have experienced a decline in market share over the past four years. From 2020 to 2024, Japanese car market share dropped from 16% to 12%, German cars fell from 19% to 16%, American cars from 12% to 7%, Korean cars from 7% to 2%, and French cars from 3% to just 0.4%. At the same time, China’s market share grew from 43% to 62%, according to Dunne Insights.

Subsidies at Play

China has subsidised EVs massively for car buyers. For example, a Reuters report revealed that buyers who opt to exchange their ICE vehicles for an all-electric and plug-in hybrid model can avail themselves of as much as Rs 2.36 Lakh (20,000 yuan). For the ones who are not ready to shift to EV or Plug-In Hybrids, a different subsidy of Rs 1.77 Lakh (15,000 yuan) is offered to trade petrol and diesel powered vehicles for a vehicle with a smaller engine capacity.

Chinese Expansion To India

The Chinese automakers have increasingly expanded to the other markets of the globe through their international ventures. In India as well, there are multiple such Chinese brands that sell EVs. The biggest of these is MG Motors, an SAIC-owned company and BYD. MG Motors has an extensive portfolio of both ICE vehicles and EVs. Their ICE models include the Hector, Astor, and Gloster. Their EV portfolio is made up of the ZS EV, Comet EV and the recently launched Windsor EV.  It achieved a sales figure of 4,571 in the month of August 2024. BYD currently has a portfolio of Atto 3 and the Seal. It plans to introduce the eMAX 7 in the coming time. It sold 209 units in August 2024. In the tenure from January to August, they sold 1,594 models. 

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