Official data showed that retail sales of passenger cars grew 5.5 percent year-on-year to 22.894 million units in 2024, while retail sales of home appliances and audiovisual equipment under the trade-in program reached 1.03 trillion yuan, up 12.3 percent year-on-year.

　　Among automobile trade-ins, more than 60 percent of the purchases were new energy vehicles, with over 6.6 million old vehicles replaced by new energy or energy-efficient cars. For home appliance trade-ins, sales of products with high energy efficiency accounted for over 90 percent, driving retail sales of highly energy efficient home appliances and smart home appliances to double-digit growth for four consecutive months.

　　“High-tech products with high energy efficiency are favored, which also helps drive the high-end, intelligent and green transformation of related industries,“ said Li Gang, director-general of the Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce.

　　Looking forward, Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura, said the trade-in program will boost digital goods sales in the first quarter.

　　“As Beijing shifts its stimulus focus from investment to consumption, we expect the trade-in program to continue playing a leading role in Beijing's stimulus in 2025,“ Lu added.

　　Citing the annual Central Economic Work Conference, Lu said policymakers pledged more specific measures to support consumption, including increasing basic pension payments and raising fiscal subsidies for basic medical insurance.