China Car Sales Bounce Back as Covid Curbs Ease

In a sign that China’s coronavirus surge is ebbing, retail car sales jumped 27% in the first half of May from the same period a month earlier.

April was the worst month for China’s automotive market since early 2020 as the country shut factories and imposed movement restrictions to combat new Covid-19 cases.

Shanghai and other large cities have been slowly easing curbs.

Although still down 21% from a year earlier, retail sales for passenger cars for the first 15 days this month rose to 484,000 units, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Thursday.

Sales during the period May 9 to 15 rose 26% from the same period in April to 230,000 units, CPCA said.

Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell

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George Russell

George Russell is a freelance writer and editor based in Hong Kong who has lived in Asia since 1996. His work has been published in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Post, Variety, Forbes and the South China Morning Post.