But the Sina.com-led research found that 685,000 such vehicles were delivered to retail customers in the period.
What happened to the 201,000 EVs in the industry association's sales tally? They were shipped by auto manufacturers to their fleet units.
In 2018, electrified-vehicle sales in China for the first time topped 1 million, reaching 1.26 million, a jump of 62 percent from a year earlier.
The surge in sales of electrified vehicles — backed by subsidies — has created a financial burden and lower revenue for the government.
To ease the revenue shortfall, the government plans to wind down subsidies for EVs and plug-in hybrids by the end of 2020. That will make it difficult for automakers to market the vehicles to consumers.
China's carbon credit program, which went into effect this year, requires passenger-vehicle manufacturers to expand their electrified-vehicle production.
Because of the policy changes, more carmakers — domestic or foreign — will have to rely on their car-sharing and ride-hailing affiliates to absorb electrified vehicle output.
www.autonews.com/com...cles-china