Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

　　The New York Times questioned the future of China"s electric vehicle (EV) sector in a headline "Stock Slide and Slow Sales: What"s Happening in China"s E.V. Market?" The article quoted John Paul MacDuffie, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as saying that Chinese companies are "maxing out the number of people for whom it makes sense" to buy one.

　　This raises the question of whether demand in the world"s largest EV market is approaching saturation. A closer look at production volumes, sales performance and penetration rates, however, shows that the market is far from reaching a structural ceiling.

　　On the contrary, China"s new-energy vehicle (NEV) market continues to expand at an impressive scale. Domestic sales reached 13.88 million units in 2025, up 19.8 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The double-digit growth highlights the sector"s scale and scope, as well as its resilience, reinforcing the view that demand remains far from saturation.

　　China"s NEV market experienced some volatility in January, partly driven by advance purchases at the end of last year. Available figures suggest that these fluctuations were likely short-lived. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, retail sales of new-energy passenger vehicles from February 1 to 8 reached 119,000 units, up 42 percent year-on-year and 41 percent month-on-month.

　　Wholesale deliveries over the same period totaled 125,000 units, a 39 percent increase year-on-year and 3 percent higher than the previous month. The figures indicate that the market is already rebounding from January"s slowdown, underscoring the underlying resilience of demand.