(Bloomberg) — China’s electric vehicle makers are on track to hit ambitious annual sales targets as they emerge as the victors from an intense price war that’s seriously wounded legacy foreign brands in the world’s biggest auto market. Analysis by Hyperdrive points to an improved picture for the major Chinese EV players at the end of the third quarter compared to the same time last year, with robust deliveries likely having eased the financial pressure from needing a new round of discounts. And things could get even better with analysts forecasting a sales bonanza in the final three months of 2024.
EV and hybrid vehicle sales more broadly are surging — along with the companies’ stock prices — fueled by expanded national and local subsidies to encourage consumers to trade-in older cars. The policy contributed to Tesla Inc.’s best-ever quarter while EV and hybrids reached around 53% of total new monthly car sales in September.
Chinese EV sales are set for an even bigger lift on a reported directive earlier this week instructing central government agencies to increase purchases of so-called new energy vehicles. “Industry demand has been better than expected since the third quarter following China’s beefed-up subsidies but many automakers still need a major push in the fourth quarter to hit their annual sales targets,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Joanna Chen said. “The first nine months usually contribute 70% of annual car sales and automakers below tha.