The widespread semiconductor shortage and resulting inventory squeeze sent China sales of new vehicles slumping for a fifth consecutive month in September, with volume shrinking 20 percent to below 2.07 million in the latest period.
Deliveries of new light vehicles ranging from sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles to minibuses slipped 17 percent to 1.75 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Tuesday.
Hit hard by the tight chip supplies and tighter emissions controls on heavy-duty trucks, sales of new commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses plunged 34 percent to around 317,000.
On July 1, China raised emissions standards on heavy-duty trucks to meet State 6 rules, which match Euro 6 standards. The move has curtailed output of new heavy-duty trucks.
China’s new-vehicle market has now expanded 8.7 percent to top 18.6 million through September, with the gain supported by a 77 percent increase in the first quarter.
Deliveries this year of light vehicles have jumped 11 percent to approach 14.86 million while sales of commercial vehicles edged up 0.5 percent to 3.76 million.
Electrified vehicles
Sales of electrified vehicles industrywide keep forging ahead, advancing 150 percent to roughly 357,000 in September.
The tally reflects some 296,000 full EVs and 61,000 plug-in hybrids, a jump of 150 percent and 140 percent, respectively.
In the first three quarters, deliveries of new EVs surged 190 percent to approximately 2.16 million, or about 1.79 million EVs and 367,000 plug-in hybrids.
The chip shortage, which has stymied automakers worldwide, may ease somewhat for China’s auto industry in the final quarter, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicted.
However, tight electricity supplies — largely a result of government mandates to curb industrial emissions — is adding new uncertainty to auto production while a spike in raw material costs will add operating pressures for automakers, the group cautioned.