Sales of gas-powered cars in China fell drastically in April, as rising fuel costs added even more pressure to the world’s largest auto market.
The China Passenger Car Association reported this week that overall passenger car sales in China fell 21.6 percent year-over-year in April to about 1.4 million vehicles.
But a closer look at the numbers suggests that the era of gas cars in China could be coming to an end.
New energy vehicles (NEVs), which include battery-powered cars and plug-in hybrids, accounted for roughly 60 percent of China’s passenger vehicle sales in April. Cars powered by other fuel types, including traditional internal combustion engines, made up the remaining 40 percent.
NEV sales were down 6.8 percent in April, but the category was dragged down largely by plug-in hybrids, which fell 25 percent. Sales of battery-powered EVs actually grew 2.4 percent.
That still does not compare to what happened to gas-powered cars. Sales of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles nosedived 37 percent last month compared with the same period a year earlier.
Among the country’s top 10 most sold cars in April, only one was gas-powered, the Geely Coolray, which took the seventh spot with 14,923 units sold. Only one plug-in hybrid made the list as well, the Changan Nevo Q05, which came in fifth place with 15,814 units. The rest of the list consisted of battery-powered EVs, led by the Geely Galaxy EX2, which took the top spot with 34,727 units sold.
CarNewsChina notes that this is a very different picture from just a few months ago, when gas-powered cars held five spots in the top 10 in March and seven in January.
Part of the drop in demand may be coming from higher fuel costs tied to President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, which has disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for the world’s oil and natural gas shipments. In an ironic twist, one unintended consequence of Trump’s war could be giving China’s already booming EV market another boost.
Chinese exports of NEVs skyrocketed 111.8 percent in April.
This year alone, Chinese EV companies have surpassed American-made EVs with breakthroughs in charging speed and driving range.
Meanwhile, in the States, Trump canceled federal EV subsidies last year, prompting several automakers to rethink or scale back parts of their EV strategies.
Ford CEO Jim Farley even warned last month that allowing Chinese automakers to sell their vehicles in the U.S. could have serious consequences for the nation’s manufacturing sector.
“We should not let them into our country,” Farley said during an appearance on Fox & Friends, according to Bloomberg. “Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our country, and for us to lose that to those exports would be devastating to our country.”
The U.S. has largely kept Chinese EVs out of the market through steep tariffs, currently set at 100%. But Chinese automakers are still steadily spreading across North America. Canada recently announced a new strategic partnership with China that could allow up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into the Canadian market.
With those vehicles entering Canada and some Chinese EVs already being sold in Mexico, Americans may soon start seeing more Chinese EVs driving down border town streets.
