16 | Monday, March 15, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY 10 | Wednesday, March 6, 2019 CHINA DAILY Short Torque China exporting more in push to go global China’s automobile exports last month increased 1.3 times year- on-year, according to data pro- vided by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Chinese car firms exported 105,000 cars in February, how- ever it represented a 12.5 per- cent month-on-month drop, CAAM data showed. About 224,000 cars were exported in the first two months of this year, up 97.8 percent year-on-year. During the period, exports of passenger cars rose 96.1 percent year-on-year to 169,000 units, while that of commercial vehi- cles doubled to 56,000 units. Argentina partially scraps tax on trade Argentine President Alberto Fernandez last week signed a decree that eliminates export taxes on 2021 automobile sales abroad that exceed those of 2020, in a bid to boost the pro- Chinese new energy startup Nio displays an SUV model at the 2020 Beijing auto show. The automaker ductive sector. “Automotive delivered 5,578 vehicles in February, up 689 percent year-on-year. CAO YINGYING / CHINA DAILY activity is, in industrial terms, a kind of flagship for us, so it has to work very well, it has to pro- duce and grow a lot,” Fernandez said. Argentina is enjoying “a higher percentage of national Sales surge in Feb as automobile production. That not only generates production and work, but also prevents us from importing and thereby los- ing foreign currency, which auto sector gets lift today we must preserve”, Fer- nandez added. Carmakers across the board delivering more Chen said that chip shortages Chinese automaker will affect 5-10 percent of produc- FAW gets a bump vehicles than in 2020 as market recovers tion in the first quarter and it will ease in the second quarter with Leading Chinese automaker governments organizing for indus- FAW Group sold 231,881 vehi- By CAO YINGYING try players to solve the problem. cles in February, a 379.2 percent [email protected] The problem is not limited to year-on-year surge, according to 1.46m China. Volkswagen warned late the company. There were 13,009 Auto sales in China continued vehicles last year that it must adapt produc- sales of its premium sedan their surge relative to 2020 in sold in China in February tion at North American and Euro- brand Hongqi in the period, an recent months with a 364.8 per- pean locations, and General increase of 246.7 percent from cent increase in February from a Motors has shut some assembly the same period last year. A year earlier when the country was such as homegrown Nio and Li lines. total of 41,690 vehicles from its at the height of its COVID-19 out- Auto, and the United States’ elec- There are still some uncertain- truck subsidiary FAW Jiefang break and with most auto plants tric carmaker Tesla, posted posi- ties for the market, including the were sold, up 215.9 percent. The and dealers shuttered. tive results. pandemic still spreading around group’s joint ventures FAW- A total of 1.46 million vehicles Nio delivered 5,578 vehicles in the world, the complex world eco- Volkswagen and FAW Toyota were sold in February, making the February, up 689 percent year-on- nomic situation and restricted also reported sales growth of January-February total 3.96 mil- year. Li Auto’s sales soared 755 per- consumption, as well as insuffi- 444.5 percent and 654.9 per- lion, according to the latest statis- cent to 2,300 vehicles. cient investment growth in the cent, respectively. tics from the China Association of Tesla sold 18,318 vehicles in Chi- country, which may affect the Automobile Manufacturers. na, up 470 percent compared with recovery of the automobile mar- Chip shortage to last Passenger vehicles sales, which last February. ket, the CAAM said. until mid-year accounted for the majority of over- The massive growth figures have With China’s carmakers seeking all sales, reached 1.16 million, been attributed to the country’s to get a foothold worldwide, A shortage of semiconductors more than four times that sold quick containment, control and exports have shown positive for car manufacturers in North during the same period last year. recovery from the COVID-19 out- growth. A total of 105,000 cars America could end by the mid- Automakers, including Great break domestically. were exported in February, an dle of this year but will cause a Wall Motors and Geely, reported Since last year, the Chinese gov- increase of 134.4 percent year-on- drop in vehicle production, the triple-digit percentage sales ernment has released related poli- year. president of Mexico’s National growth. cies and incentives to boost car China’s largest carmaker in Auto Parts Industry, Oscar Great Wall Motors reported sales and recover from the pan- terms of sales, SAIC said last Albin, said last week. During a sales of 89,050 vehicles in Februa- demic. month it plans to sell 1.5 million virtual news conference, Albin ry, up 788.5 percent year-on-year. In recent months, Chinese regu- vehicles overseas by 2025. said the global scarcity of chips Geely’s sales reached 77,221 last lators have announced new meas- Domestic new energy vehicle could lead to 264,186 fewer month, increasing 265 percent. Its ures, such as further relaxing manufacturers, including Xpeng, vehicles being produced in Lynk & Co brand sold 11,825 vehi- vehicle-purchase restrictions and WM and BYD, are already selling North America this year. “We cles, up 472.4 percent. building more charging facilities vehicles in Europe. believe this problem … will end Sales of new energy vehicles for electric cars. The CAAM predicts that China’s by the middle of the year and in increased 584.7 percent in Februa- Chen Shihua, a deputy secre- auto industry is likely to see a July we will begin to resume our ry year-on-year to 110,000, includ- tary-general of the CAAM said slight growth for the first time in production capacity at 100 per- ing 89,000 pure electric passenger that with China’s 2021 economic four years in 2021. cent,” Albin told reporters. vehicles and 17,000 plug-in hybrid growth target of above 6 percent, The outlook anticipates 26.3 Electric Hong Guang vehicles are displayed at a Wuling event in passenger cars. the auto industry will be support- million vehicles will be sold in Chi- Kia recalls models on Shanghai on March 4. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY New energy vehicle makers, ed by the new measures. na this year. grounds of fire risks Kia is telling owners of nearly 380,000 vehicles in the US to park outdoors due to the risk of Government focus on NEVs switches from production to use an engine compartment fire. The South Korean automaker is By LI FUSHENG ID-19 pandemic, almost 1.37 million they believe that quality vehicles Chinese companies, including ed with severe overcapacity. One recalling certain 2017-21 Sport- were sold and the figure is expected and sound infrastructure are more electric car startup Nio, are pio- example is that carmakers in Jiang- age SUVs and 2017-19 Cadenza The phrase “new energy vehicles”, to hit 1.8 million this year. attractive than subsidies. neering battery swap technology. It su province produced 100,800 new sedans to fix the problem. The which has been repeated in the Gov- China has been the largest mar- Stephan Woellenstein, CEO of allows a car to replace a fully energy vehicles in 2020, while its company says a short circuit in ernment Work Report over the past ket for such vehicles since it over- Volkswagen Group China, said if charged battery in less than three capacity, including some to be the hydraulic electronic brake seven years, did not appear in the took the United States in 2015, charging is easily accessible, cus- minutes, when it usually takes built, totaled 2.85 million, accord- control unit can cause excessive report delivered at this year’s annu- according to statistics from the tomers will be less worried about hours to get a vehicle fully charged. ing to the Economic Observer current, increasing the risk of a al two sessions, which concluded on Ministry of Industry and Informa- electric cars’ ranges. The technology enables Nio to newspaper. fire. The company says the Thursday. tion Technology. “Gasoline cars run for 500-600 sell vehicles without batteries, Data show that from 2015 to the recalled vehicles are not That does not mean, however, China’s subsidies, which are esti- kilometers and people don’t com- which they can rent and get empty first half of 2017, there were more equipped with Kia’s Smart that the sector is losing Chinese gov- mated to total hundreds of billions plain. That is because they can ones swapped. This innovation was than 200 new energy vehicle pro- Cruise Control system. ernment support. Instead, the focus of yuan, gave a boost in the early sta- always find a gas station within 10 included in Fortune’s 2020 “Change jects in the country, some planned is changing from car production ges of the sector by motivating car- km. the World” list. and some under construction. Aston Martin to build and sales to their use. “Efforts makers to offer electric vehicles and “Now electric cars have a similar Nio said it will soon launch sec- They involved a projected invest- its EVs in the UK should be made to build more gasoline car owners to switch to driving range as well, but people ond-generation battery swap sta- ment of 1.03 trillion yuan ($158.5 charging piles and battery swap sta- electric.