China's new energy vehicle (NEV) is expected to hit a new high in 2023 and its sales may rise by up to 40% year-on-year as consumer confidence is restored and vehicle makers like Great Wall Motors, Zeekr and Hongqi vie to launch new models, reported China Daily on January 16.

Paul Gong, an automotive analyst at UBS, estimated that passenger NEV sales would reach 8.8 million units in 2023, accounting for 38% of total passenger vehicle sales.

A total of 6.5 million electric and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles were sold last year, up 96.3% year-on-year, according to statistics from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The association expects sales to hit 8.5 million units this year.

The surging popularity of NEVs saw China's BYD overtake FAW-Volkswagen as the best-selling carmaker in 2022, with 1.86 million vehicles sold during the year, up 149% year-on-year, said the China Daily report.

Meanwhile, the number of registered NEVs in China hit 13.1 million by the end of 2022, an increase of over 67% year-on-year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Public Security.

Zhang Yongwei, vice-president of China EV 100, estimated that NEV sales would grow at 30 to 40 percent year-on-year in 2023.

Zhang added that exports would help drive NEV sales as well. Last year, carmakers in China shipped overseas 3.11 million vehicles, up 54% from 2021, of which 679,000 units were NEVs, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

A survey by China EV 100, a major think tank in the industry, shows that carmakers will launch at least 100 NEV models this year in China, which will help attract car buyers from gasoline cars.

Major carmakers share their optimism for the prospects of NEVs. Great Wall Motors, China's largest SUV maker, said it would launch 10 NEV models this year.

Zeekr, the premium electric marque of Geely, will start to produce its second model this year. Its sales target for 2023 is to double 2022 sales and exceed 140,000 units.

Hongqi, the premium arm of China FAW Group, announced its NEV strategy earlier this month. It expects around 50% of its total sales in 2025 to be new energy vehicles.

At the event held earlier this month, Hongqi also unveiled an architecture called FMEs and three electric models built based on it.

In addition, international premium carmakers are also stepping up their EV product campaigns, according to the China Daily report.

BMW sold 41,900 EVs last year in China, up 91.3% year-on-year. The German marque said it would have 11 electric models in the market this year, including the China-made iX1 and the electric Spectre from its luxury marque Rolls-Royce.

Mercedes-Benz said it would launch six electric and plug-in hybrid models this year in China, including the EQE SUV and the EQS SUV, according to China Daily.

(HX Chen)