"Automobile production and sales in April were the lowest in nearly a decade, and the automotive industry chain and supply chain are also experiencing the harshest test in history."

Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general, made the above judgment at a monthly information conference held by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as the China Automobile Association).

According to the data, in April, domestic automobile production and sales completed 1.205 million and 1.181 million respectively, down 46.2% and 47.1% respectively from the previous month, and 46.1% and 47.6% respectively from the same period last year. Affected by this, car production and sales from January to April also fell, completing 7.69 million and 7.691 million respectively, down 10.5% and 12.1% from the same period last year.

According to the analysis of the China Automobile Association, there are two factors contributing to the sharp drop in automobile production and sales in April. First, affected by the epidemic, some enterprises have stopped production and production, logistics and transportation have been hindered, and production and supply capacity has declined sharply; second, affected by the epidemic, consumption capacity and confidence have declined significantly.

It is worth mentioning that although the overall market is led by the word "down", the performance of new energy vehicles is still better than the same period last year.

Production and sales of new energy vehicles keep growing compared with the same period last year.

Before the official monthly data were released, the China Automobile Association had forecast the production and sales data for April. Affected by the epidemic, major domestic automobile enterprises all stopped production and reduced production in April, coupled with supply chain disruption, which further aggravated the production and sales pressure of enterprises.

However, in the case of tight upstream and downstream of the industry, new energy vehicles still handed over a good answer. Data show that in April this year, domestic production and sales of new energy vehicles were 312000 and 299000 respectively, down 33 per cent and 38.3 per cent from the previous month, up 43.9 per cent and 44.6 per cent year-on-year.

Of these, the production and sales of pure electric vehicles completed 242000 and 231000 respectively, up 33.0% and 34.6% respectively over the same period last year; the production and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles completed 69000 and 68000 respectively, up 1.0% and 94.0% respectively over the same period last year; and the production and sales of fuel cell vehicles increased by 3.9% and 1.5% respectively.

Chen Shihua analysis said that new energy vehicle sales can continue to maintain year-on-year growth, there are multiple reasons. On the one hand, it is due to the exuberant consumer demand, on the other hand, it is also due to the active production protection of enterprises. Under the overall pressure, most car companies choose to devote their main energy to the production of new energy vehicles to ensure the stability of sales.

Among the top 15 Chinese brand car sales companies counted by the China Automobile Association from January to April, BYD, Chery Automobile, Guangzhou Automobile Group, XPeng Inc. and Hezhong New Energy, which achieved year-on-year growth in sales, are all enterprises with good sales performance of new energy vehicles.

The market share of Chinese brands is rising rapidly.

In April, the performance of Chinese brand passenger cars was also a bright color in the market. Data show that in April, Chinese brand passenger car sales were 551000, down 39.1% from the previous month and 23.3% from a year earlier. Although the sales volume showed a decline in month-on-month and year-on-year performance, its market share has a clear hint. The current market share was 57%, an increase of 8.5 percentage points over the previous month and 14.9 percentage points over the same period last year.

Compared with other major foreign brands, the month-on-month decline in sales of German, Japanese and American passenger cars was more pronounced in April. Compared with the same period last year, the number of passenger cars of French brands maintained an increase, while other foreign brands showed a rapid decline.

From January to April, China sold 3.098 million passenger cars, an increase of 9.8% over the same period last year, with a market share of 47.6%, an increase of 6.0% over the same period last year.

It is worth noting that while the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars has increased as a whole, the market concentration of key enterprise groups is slightly lower than that of the same period. This means that in the process of the continuous rise of Chinese automobile brands, the market is also showing a state of letting a hundred flowers blossom, and more and more new forces are beginning to be recognized by consumers and the market.

According to the data, from January to April, the total sales of the top 10 enterprise groups in car sales were 6.594 million, down 12.4% from the same period last year, accounting for 85.7% of total car sales, down 0.3% from the same period last year. The cumulative sales of new car manufacturers reached 384000, an increase of 87.1% over the same period last year, accounting for 5%, an increase of 2.6% over the same period last year.

Recently, key enterprises in Shanghai, Changchun and other places have resumed work and production one after another, and most automobile enterprises and parts enterprises are also stepping up efforts to remedy the capacity gap.

According to Chen Shihua, the China Automobile Association has learned from relevant enterprises that at present, the orders on hand of most companies are very abundant, and the top priority is to ensure production capacity and supply.

According to the judgment of the China Automobile Association, judging from the current situation, the development situation of the automobile industry is gradually improving, and it is necessary for relevant enterprises to strive to seize the key window in May and June to make up for the lost production and sales, and it is expected that the automobile industry will maintain stable development throughout the year.