Sales of passenger vehicles in China rose by over 4% to 1.25 million units in February 2022 from 1.18 million units a year earlier, according to retail data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
February had been a particularly weak month for Chinese vehicle sales in the last two years due to the Lunar New Year holidays. Compared with 2.09 million units in January, sales were down by over 40%.
Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), comprising mainly electric and hybrid vehicles, jumped by over 180% to 272,000 units last month to account for almost 22% of total passenger vehicle sales.
The association said sales of Chinese brand vehicles amounted to 540,000 units last month, to accounted for 44% of the total, with GAC reporting a 36% surge to 143,000 units.
Domestic manufacturers of new energy vehicles also enjoyed strong gains.
Overall passenger vehicle sales in the first two months of the year were down just slightly at 3.32 million units from 3.36 million a year earlier.