China wholesales May 2024: AITO, NIO, Zeekr break records

AITO reaches a record 32,226 wholesales in May.

Chinese car wholesales in May edge up 1.2% year-on-year in May to 2,031,000 units. This includes 1,104,000 SUVs (+9.3%), 847,000 Passenger Cars (-6.3%) and 79,000 MPVs (-13.3%). The year-to-date volume is up 8.5% to 9,584,000 units including 5,141,000 SUVs (+15.1%), 4,068,000 Passenger Cars (+2.7%) and 375,000 MPVs (-7.8%). Domestic manufacturers improve 18% year-on-year to 1,298,000 units and 63.9% share whereas mainstream joint-venture brands sink -23% to 480,000 and luxury car brands drop -9% to 260,000.

New energy vehicle sales surge 32.1% year-on-year in May to 897,000 units, accounting for 44.2% share of the total car market, 10.2 percentage points above the 34% it held a year ago in May 2023. NEVs make up 59.8% of domestic car makers wholesales, 32.7% of luxury brands and only 8% of mainstream joint-venture brands. In the detail, BEVs account for 59% of NEV sales in May at 531,000 units, PHEVs are at 31% with 276,000 and EREVs at 10% with 91,000 units.

Exports surge 23% year-on-year to 378,000 units in May, adding up to 1.87 million over the first five months of the year (+34%). However new energy vehicles account for 24.8% of these exports, 6.8 percentage points below its level of May 2023.

NIO sales are up 233.8% year-on-year to a new record.

BYD (+18.2%) posts another great performance with almost 250,000 wholesales this month vs. just above 150,000 for Volkswagen (-13.4%). BYD sales are propped up by the Destroyer 05 (+150.9%) reaching a volume record at 24,690, the Qin Plus (+13.5%), Seagull (+298.1%), Song Plus (+51.4%) and Song Pro (+63.9%). The brand also launched three new models this month: the Qin L, Sea Lion 07 and Seal 06, and even if they started at low levels, they will surely boost sales further in the near future. Volkswagen struggles despite strong showings by the ID.3 (+163.8%), Tavendor (+48.2%), Teramont (+34.7%), ID.4 X (+20.5%) and Tayron (+18%). Toyota (-15.8%) is also in trouble roughly 25,000 units below, but some nameplates still manage solid results such as the Front Lander (+46.5%), Highlander (+44.1%), Corolla Cross (+18.9%) and Granvia (+18.2%).

Zeekr also breaks its monthly volume record in May.

Geely (+20.3%) shines and stays #4 ahead of Honda (-34.8%) and Changan (-31.3%) both in dire straits.  Nissan (-1.6%), Mercedes (-1.8%) and BMW (-3.2%) all edge down just as Tesla (+29.9%) soars unlike in the other markets we have covered so far in May. Chery (+28.7%) also impresses at #13 while Li Auto (+23.8%) is back inside the Top 15 for the first time this year at #15. AITO (+689.3%) breaks its monthly volume record at 32,226 thanks to the success of the new M9 which accounts for 51% of the brand’s sales in May. Two additional domestic NEV brands reach all time highs this month: NIO (+233.8%) at 20,544 and Zeekr (+114.5%) at 18,616.

Jetour (+116%), Tank (+81.9%), Deepal (+60.3%), Leapmotor (+50.6%), Lynk & Co (+50.1%), Xpeng (+35.2%) and Hongqi (+33.6%) also deliver stunning results. You will have noticed that there are no foreign brands among these best performers. Ford (+2.8%), Lincoln (+29%) and Smart (+26.8%) are the only foreign gainers in the entire market. Big names such as Buick (-40.7%), Hyundai (-30.7%), Cadillac (-47.5%), Chevrolet (-62.3%), Kia (-23.1%), Peugeot (-20.3%), Land Rover (-17.5%) and Citroen (-36.3%) all crater.

Looking at the models ranking in separation, the BYD Qin PLUS (+13.5%) stays on top with just under 49,000 sales, the Tesla Model Y (+28.8%) advances two spots on April to #2 ahead of the BYD Seagull (+298.1%) and Song Plus (+51.4%), The Nissan Sylphy (-10.7%) skids year-on-year but stays at #5. The BYD Destroyer 05 (+150.9%) progresses to #6 which is a new ranking record for the nameplate, one month after breaking into the Top 10 for the first time. The Yuan Plus (-5.5%) and Song Pro (+63.9%) make it six BYD models in the Top 9. The Toyota Front Lander (+46.5%) is among the country’s 10 best-sellers for the first time at #10. The AITO M9 tops recent launches at #17 ahead of the LI L6 at #27 and the BYD Yuan UP at #49. Notice also the Tesla Model 3 up 33% to #19 and the Zeekr 001 up 116.6% to #25.

Previous month: China wholesales April 2024: BYD monopolises podium, places 7 models in Top 10, outsells VW by 104,000 units

One year ago: China wholesales May 2023: Market back up 27.9%, BYD Qin Plus now #1 YTD

Full May 2024 Top 99 All brands and Top 540 All models below.