What’s new: Carmakers in China shipped 2 million vehicles to dealerships and stores in April, up 0.9% from a year earlier, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Thursday. It was the first increase in monthly deliveries in the world’s largest auto market since June 2018.
April sales to dealers jumped 39.8% from March. Still, total sales in the first four months dropped about 32% from the same period last year to 5.67 million units, according to the association.
Background: The slight rebound in wholesale auto sales fueled expectations that China’s vehicle industry may be thawing from the Covid-19 freeze.
China’s car sales plummeted in February and March as businesses closed during the pandemic, worsening the position of an industry that has contracted for two years amid slowing economic growth.
The CAAM figures represent wholesale deliveries. Retail data is expected to be released by the China Passenger Car Association next week.
Related: China Gets Back to Work, but Finds Few Customers
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Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)
