According to a research report released by Bank of America Securities, the number of passenger car insurance registrations in the mainland rose 18 per cent year-on-year to 1.57 million in April, but fell 6 per cent on a monthly basis, in line with market expectations. The 54% year-on-year increase in sales in the first four months of this year is mainly due to a low base last year, and the number of insurance registrations for passenger cars is also lower than the wholesale volume. Based on the difference between the two and taking into account the number of imported cars, the bank estimated that channel inventory increased by about 21000 units in April, with Guangdong, Shandong, Zhejiang, Henan, Hebei and Shanghai outperforming the industry in April. Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hunan and Anhui lost.

The bank pointed out that the insurance registration of locally produced electric vehicles reached 166000 in April, a year-on-year increase of 209%, but slightly lower than in March. Electric vehicle sales fell 11% month-on-month in April, mainly due to reduced Tesla deliveries. Electric vehicle sales have benefited from a low base since the beginning of this year, with an annual growth rate of 282%. Among them, Wuling, SAIC, Great Wall Motor (02333.HK), NIO.US and Xiaopeng (XPENG.US) outperformed the market. Sales of locally made Tesla rose 188 per cent in April, but fell 66 per cent on a monthly basis. The bank raised its forecast for mainland electric car sales this year by 20.4 per cent to 2.23 million, meaning it will grow by 63 per cent year-on-year, and it is estimated that electric cars will account for 9.4 per cent of all passenger cars by 2021.