China's auto sector sees moderate recovery in May

The output and sales, as well as exports of China's automobile market, registered year-on-year growth in May, industrial data showed.

China posted automobile output and sales at 2.33 million and 2.38 million units, respectively, in May, up 21.1 and 27.9 percent on a yearly basis, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed on Friday.

Automobile output and sales increased 11.1 percent, respectively, to 10.69 million and 10.62 million units during the Jan to May period, the association said.

Consumption promotion measures in many regions during the May Day holiday, as well as the low base in May last year, all contributed to the moderate market growth last month, according to CAAM.

The country released a guideline to assist people living in the rural areas to purchase and use new energy vehicles recently, a move projected to boost NEV sales.

New energy vehicles, the bright spot of the automobile market, posted output and sales at 713,000 and 717,000 units in May, an increase of 53 and 60.2 percent, respectively.

Automobile enterprises registered 58.7 percent increase of exports to 389,000 units in May, with passenger vehicles exported 325,000 units, a yearly increase of 66.3 percent. NEVs exported 108,000 units, a rise of 1.5 times compared with the same period of last year.