Tesla vehicles park outside a building in Beijing. Photo: Zhang Hongpei/GT

China's new-energy vehicle (NEV) sales in May fell 25.7 percent year-on-year to 70,200 units, easing from a 30-percent contraction in April, industry data showed. NEV sales rose 19.5 percent month-on-month in May.

Tesla was No.1 last month, while domestic NEV start-ups like NIO also became major forces.

Sales of plug-in electric hybrid vehicle dived 31 percent to 14,000, while sales of pure electric cars shrank 27 percent to 56,000, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Monday.

In May, sales of Tesla's Model 3, made in the Shanghai factory, reached 11,095 units, up 205 percent from April, according to media reports. 

As China's economy steadily restarted and consumers' pent-up demand was released, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the CPCA, told the Global Times on Monday that NEV sales in the world's largest auto market could start growing again in the second half, maybe as soon as July. 

China's NEV sales fell for the first time in July 2019. 

In recent months, many local governments have launched policies to boost NEV sales. 

For example, South China's Hainan Province announced on Monday that the island will cease sales of internal combustion cars in 2030. The province also announced in May that it will offer a subsidy of 10,000 yuan per car to NEV buyers. 

Similar policies have been announced in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province and Southwest China's Sichuan Province. 

In April, China announced that it will extend government subsidies for purchasing NEVs for two years to the end of 2020. The purchase tax on NEVs was also exempted until 2022. 

Cui said these policies are like "red envelopes" worth over 100 billion yuan to consumers, which bodes well for the NEV market's recovery. 

Global Times