As China reopens its automobile industry for the country¡¯s market, prospective sales are looking positive with a new-found appeal for personal vehicles after the Coronavirus outbreak. Among these, many first time vehicle buyers are reportedly preferring to go green with an electric vehicle.
As per a new survey conducted by Ipsos, a marketing research firm, 41% of those new buyers have a preference for EVs. March sales across the country have also reflected the growing trend.
The China Passenger Car Association reported a dramatic rise in sales in the month of March as sales shot up from being 96% deficit to 40% deficit year-on-year. Out of these vehicles sold, about 47,000 were electric cars. These cars included all brand makers¡¯ seals, from Tesla to BYD, Nio and others, as all of them enjoyed record breaking sales in the month.
Other OEMs are still in the process of restarting their operations. To debut the Volkswagen ID family in China, SAIC Volkswagen plant in Changsha resumed operations last week and will produce VW ID electric cars.
Audi e-Tron will also be locally produced in the country later this year. Tesla is targeting a local production of long range Model 3. M-Byte, Byton¡®s first mass production model, is also expected to be launched this year.
In order to help with the sales of such vehicles, the Chinese government is also taking several measures. It is extending EV subsidies, loosening restrictions as well as deploying a program similar to cash-for-clunkers in some areas.
As the Coronavirus-induced lockdown ends in other parts of the world, such a boom in the automobile industry is expected as people will now tend to prefer travelling by their own vehicle soon. And with the electric vehicles being the need of the hour to save planet Earth, it won¡¯t be difficult for the car owners to buy.