Staff members work at a production line of Yubei plant of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. in Chongqing, southwest China, Feb. 18, 2020.Photo:Xinhua

The sales volume of China's automobile industry is expected to reach 1.452 million units in February this year, up 3.7 times on a year-on-year basis against the relatively low base of the same time last year affected by COVID-19, according to a prediction from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Volvo sold 10,050 vehicles in the Chinese mainland market in February, up 744.5 percent from a year ago, setting the highest sales record in February in the brand's history. The total sales of Volvo in the Chinese mainland market reached 29,172 in the first two months this year, an increase of 160 percent year-on-year.

The cumulative sales volume of Hongqi in January and February exceeded 45,500 units, with a year-on-year growth of 178 percent, while SAIC Group sold 649,600 units, up 45.13 percent. BYD has sold about 63,300 new cars this year, a year-on-year increase of 106.45 percent. In the first two months of this year, Toyota sold 306,900 vehicles, up 81.4 percent year-on-year.

Despite the year-on-year rise, the February sales volume of some major car manufacturers was cut in half from January due to halted business activity during the Spring Festival and the chip shortage.

In February this year, the sales volume of the automobile industry is expected to reach 1.452 million units, down 42 percent from January, according to CAAM.

Hongqi sold 13,000 vehicles in February, down 60 percent month on month. BYD's sales volume in February dropped to 29,000 vehicles in February. In February, Toyota sold 117,400 vehicles in China, down 38 percent on monthly basis.

In terms of Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) makers, Nio delivered 5,578 cars in February, a year-on-year increase of 688.97 percent but down 22.8 percent from January. Li Auto delivered 2,300 units, up 755 percent from last year but down 57 percent on monthly basis. XPeng delivered 2,223 units, with a year-on-year growth of 1,280 percent but declined 63 percent from January.

Global times