China’s new-energy vehicle (NEV) market experienced a second consecutive month of sales shrinkage as the Lunar New Year holiday and a cut in subsidies took effect, reports the South China Morning Post. Sales of NEVs—pure electric, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles—reached 334,000 last month, down 22.6% from January, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
In January, sales fell 18.6% from December, when it surged ahead of the 30% subsidy cuts on NEV purchases that came into effect in the new year. However, sales jumped 184.3% year-on-year.
“The weak February data does not truly reflect the market situation,” said Tian Maowei, a manager with Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai. “Sales will rebound in March and the months to come because electric cars are increasingly well received by Chinese drivers.”