Sales of electric vehicles surged during the week-long National Day holiday due to China’s multifaceted stimulus package; one manufacturer called it the ‘best Golden Week in many years’.
According to Zhou Jinkai, the marketing director of General Motors Co.‘s joint venture with Wuling Motors Holdings Ltd. and SAIC Motor Corp., it was the brand’s strongest Golden Week in terms of sales in years. As the week-long holiday came to an end on Monday, he posted on the Chinese social media site Weibo, saying, “The stock market is up, and the car market is up!”
He was not the only one who spread the good word. Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., the Chinese electric car partner of Stellantis NV, got a record 17,000 orders in the first week of October, according to a post on Wechat by Zhu Jiangming, the company’s chief executive officer. He also congratulated his staff for their hard work throughout the holiday. More than 6,000 SU7 EVs have had orders locked, or deposits taken, in the last seven days, according to Xiaomi Corp. Chairman Lei Jun. This represents more than half of the company’s usual monthly deliveries.
Images of packed vehicle shops from the previous week have been making the rounds on Chinese social media, adding credence to the idea that the late-September fiscal bazooka is beginning to improve consumer morale following a spectacular rebound in the stock market. The National Bureau of Statistics reports that auto-related spending decreased 2.4% in the first eight months of this year compared to 2023. It is unclear if this increase will be able to buck the general trend of dropping auto-related spending.
During the holiday, many did more with their cars than just spend money on them. Over the summer, road trips have become the most popular form of transportation, resulting in gridlock in the streets and lengthy lines at charging stations for electric vehicle owners.
Forecasts issued by the Ministry of Transport on September 27 indicate that around 1.53 billion journeys were made by drivers during Golden Week, accounting for 80% of all travels made by Chinese tourists. Planes, trains and other commercial services like bus excursions made up the remaining 20 per cent.
Many of those road excursions were taken in electric cars (EVs), which currently account for one in three new car sales in some parts of China, though the government does not release precise numbers. According to official data, this contributed to the electricity consumed by public charges on highways reaching a record 15.58 gigawatt hours during the first two days of the holiday.
Based on data from the state grid, that represents a 56% increase over the same period of the holiday in 2023. According to preliminary data from Baidu Maps, the average daily traffic on highways is also expected to be 3% higher this year than last.
As more people opt to travel within China and value the flexibility that comes with driving, road trips are becoming more and more popular. Traveling abroad is becoming less popular, so people are spending more time discovering lesser-known sights instead. Web searches for ‘niche tourist sites’ have increased by 200%. According to Baidu Maps, remote locations in the provinces of Gansu and Yunnan have been among the most sought-after travel destinations.
Long lines at charging stations and traffic congestion are two drawbacks to the road trip mania.
Several tourists vented on social media about the time they lost waiting for an EV charging station to become available or being immobile during traffic jams.
Posts on the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu revealed that some people turned to playing card games on the side of the road to pass the time while driving a Chinese smart car, which comes equipped with enormous screens and built-in entertainment systems. It is possible that this was also done in order to save electricity.
