People work at the assembly line of China's leading automaker FAW Group Co., Ltd. based in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, April 22, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

China's passenger car market saw sales of 1.90 million units in September, a year-on-year increase of 21 percent, driven particularly by new energy vehicles (NEVs), the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said in a statement on Monday, while also noting that government policies have helped in boosting consumer confidence.

In September, domestic passenger car manufacturers sold 2.249 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 29 percent and up 7 percent from last month, the CPCA said.

The effect of policies such as halving the car purchase tax has been conspicuous in terms of boosting consumer confidence, resulting in the retail sales achieving high year-on-year growth, the association said.

NEV sales have been a driving force for the domestic car market, exemplified by the latest car sales data for September.

The CPCA estimated that wholesale figures for NEV manufacturers in September came to 664,000 units, an increase of about 90 percent compared with the same period last year.

The boom was partly due to an increase in production capacity, the release of new products and policy factors, the association said.

Although the purchase cost for an NEV is slightly higher than for a traditional fuel vehicle, the rise of fuel prices due to global inflation and geopolitical conflicts has changed the balance, according to media reports.

The significant sales in September also mirrored the resilient and complete supply chain of China's car industry despite the epidemic and other factors.

One good example is the record deliveries by Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the CPCA, recently said that Tesla's factory in Shanghai delivered more than 83,000 vehicles in September, once again setting a new record for monthly deliveries.

Also, Tesla China's sales in September reached 83,100 units, a 48.4 percent increase compared to the 56,000 units sold in the same period last year, according to media reports.

The resilient production has backed up the sales, consolidating China's place as a world leading car production hub.

Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that about 1.91 million Chinese vehicles were exported from January to August, up 44 percent year-on-year, with a surge in exports of NEVs playing a key role.