- Sales of 100% electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars fell by 52.5% in China in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter of 2019, more than the Chinese market for all engines combined (-45.4 %). As a result, their market share is only 4.5% in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 5.2% in the first quarter of 2019.

- Sales volumes of 100% electric and plug-in hybrid cars in China totaled 129,150 units in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 271,673 units a year earlier.

- When we observe the evolution of this market by models, we note three important facts:

1 / The Tesla Model 3 has become the best-selling electric car in China, tripling its sales between the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, which is a big surprise, since this American car has not at all suffered from trade tensions between the USA and China which strongly impacted the sales of GM and Ford on the Chinese market. Admittedly, the Tesla is produced in China but GM and Ford sold in China also.

2 / Traditional Chinese models have experienced vertiginous declines (notably BYD, BAIC, Chery and Geely). One can wonder about such a drop in sales for Chinese models that have sold well in recent years.

3 / The models of the new Chinese start-ups are making a nice breakthrough, like the NIO ES6, Lixiang One EV or HozonNeta N01. Other new models like the GAC Aion EV, SAIC MG eZS EV, BYD e2 or FAW Besturn B30 EV are also making a breakthrough.