China's new energy passenger vehicle penetration at retail in February was 32.1 percent, up 6.4 percentage points from 25.7 percent in January.

Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles (passenger NEVs) in China were 438,000 units in February, up 59 percent year-on-year and up 32 percent from January, according to preliminary data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

It is worth noting that the CPCA's estimated figures released on February 21 show that retail sales of passenger NEVs in China are expected to be around 400,000 units in February. The higher figures released today imply that the market performed stronger than expected in the last week of February.

So far this year, cumulative retail sales of passenger NEVs in China are up 23 percent year-on-year to 770,000 units, the CPCA said today.

In wholesale terms, China's passenger NEV sales were 500,000 units in February, up 58 percent year-on-year and up 29 percent from the previous month.

China's cumulative wholesale sales of passenger NEVs in the first two months were 889,000 units, up 21 percent from a year earlier.

Including both internal combustion engine vehicles and NEVs, China's retail sales of passenger cars in February were 1.364 million units, up 9 percent year-on-year and up 6 percent from January, according to the CPCA.

This means that the penetration rate of passenger NEVs at retail in February was 32.1 percent, up 6.4 percentage points from 25.7 percent in January.

In the first two months, retail sales of all passenger cars in China were 2.657 million units, down 21 percent year-on-year.

Wholesale sales of passenger cars in China were 1.598 million units in February, up 9 percent year-on-year and up 10 percent from the previous month. Cumulative wholesale sales for the year to date period were 3.047 million units, down 16 percent year-on-year.

China's passenger NEV sales fell significantly in January due to the Chinese New Year holiday and rebounded steadily into February, the CPCA said. This year's Chinese New Year holiday was January 21-27.

For the overall passenger vehicle market, it also picked up significantly after the holiday.

The following is the weekly performance of China's passenger car market in February, as announced by the CPCA today:

Average daily passenger vehicle retail sales for the first week of February were 37,000 units, up 39 percent year-on-year and down 17 percent from the same period in January.

Average daily sales for the second week of February were 40,000 units, up 52 percent year-on-year and down 18 percent from the same period in January.

Average daily sales for the third week of February were 38,000 units, down 14 percent year-on-year and up 11 percent from the same period in January.

Average daily sales for the fourth week of February were 70,000 units, up 1 percent year-on-year and up 73 percent from the same period in January.

China NEV insurance registrations for week ending Mar 5: BYD 38,932, Tesla 13,266, NIO 3,345