China's passenger NEV retail sales reached a record 1.123 million units in September, marking the second consecutive month of over 1 million.

China's retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) grew further in September, reaching a new record high, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Retail sales of passenger NEVs in China totaled 1.123 million units in September, the second consecutive month of more than 1 million, up 50.9 percent from the same month last year and up 9.6 percent from August.

The figure was higher than the CPCA's preliminary figure of 1.12 million units released in early October, and higher than the 1.1 million estimate it released at the end of last month.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 57.3 percent of all NEV retail sales in September at 644,000 units. This represents a 29.2 percent increase year-on-year and a 10.9 percent increase from August.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), excluding extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), accounted for 361,000 units of retail sales in September, contributing 32.1 percent of all NEV retail sales. This is up 96.7 percent year-on-year and 6.8 percent from August.

Retail sales of EREVs were 117,000 units in September, contributing 10.4 percent of NEV retail sales, which was up 89.1 percent year-on-year and up 10.9 percent from August.

This is the first time the CPCA has released separate sales figures for EREVs, as sales of such models were previously included in PHEVs.

China's passenger vehicles, including sedans, SUVs and MPVs, retailed at 2.109 million units in September, up 4.5 percent year-on-year and up 10.6 percent from August.

China's NEV penetration rate at retail stood at 53.3 percent in September, the third consecutive month above the 50 percent mark.

The penetration rate was 16.4 percentage points higher than the 36.9 percent recorded in the same month last year, but 0.6 percentage points lower than the 53.9 percent recorded in August.

Penetration of NEVs of local brands at retail was 74.9 percent in September, compared with 33.5 percent for luxury brands and 7 percent for mainstream JV brands, according to CPCA.

Wholesale sales of passenger NEVs reached a record 1,231,000 units in September, up 48.1 percent year-on-year and up 17.2 percent from August.

NEV penetration at wholesale in September was a record 49.1 percent, up 15 percentage points from 33.9 percent a year ago and up 0.2 percentage points from 48.9 percent in August.

Chinese local brands' NEV penetration at wholesale was 64 percent in September, compared to 40 percent for luxury brands and 6.2 percent for mainstream JV brands.

Passenger NEVs exported from China were 105,000 units in September, up 19.3 percent year-on-year and up 6.0 percent from August, contributing 24 percent of passenger car exports.

BEVs contributed 82 percent of September's NEV exports, with A0- and A00-class BEVs accounting for 30 percent of NEV exports, according to the CPCA.

China EV insurance registrations for week ending Oct 6: Nio 4,500, Tesla 1,800, Xiaomi 3,800, BYD 67,600