In the first five months of 2023, Chinese carmakers sold 1.76 million automobiles, an increase of 81.5% compared to the same period one year prior, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Industry experts have noted that since April, the Chinese vehicle market has begun to thrive, however they cautioned that challenges continue, for automakers to produce increased growth for the entire year.

On Friday, the CAAN released statistics which showed that the majority of exports from China were made up of passenger vehicles. In the period from January to May, sales were up by 96.6%, making up 1.46 million total units. Exports of commercial cars added up to 291,000 units, growing 30.9%.

New energy vehicle exports including electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, and plugin hybrids, increased by 50% to 457,000 units for the first five months of 2023.

The CAAM pointed out that the year-on-year growth was primarily attributed to lower bases comparatively in 2022, resulting from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on production and sales.

In China, car sales were 26.86 million units in 2022, a growth of 2.1% compared to the previous year. In June of 2022, vehicle sales and production began to recover, after Covid-19 outbreaks had disrupted supply chains for nearly two months and triggered a shortage of components across the country, particularly in Shanghai where the lockdowns were the most severe.