BEIJING – China’s car sales rose in February from a year earlier when the country was at the height of the pandemic coronavirus infection and consumers were locked down their homes.
Passenger car sales last month more than quadrupled to 1.18 million vehicles compared to the previous year, the China Passenger Car Association said Tuesday. The jump reflects the low sales in the same period last year. Sales fell 79% in February 2020 as many cities were locked down and factories and retailers closed.
In February, 97,000 electric cars were sold, CPCA said. That’s an increase of more than seven times from a year earlier, but it represents a 38% month-on-month decline. Tesla Sales Inc. 18,318 Model 3s and Model Ys made by Shanghai last month, the group’s data showed.
Since last year, China has been offering various subsidies and incentives to help boost car sales and reduce the incidence of Covid-19 pandemics. In the past few months, Chinese regulators have announced more measures, including more rest in buying cars and building more facilities for electric cars.
Raffaele Huang contributed to this article.
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