(Yicai Global) April 14 -- Chinese carmaker Chery Holding’s sales of new energy vehicles plummeted 68 percent in the first quarter from the year before, the most of all major carmakers, as mini EVs become less popular, according to the latest data.

Chery shifted 16,000 autos in the first quarter, a far cry from 2022 when sales doubled to 233,000 units, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Last year, Chery came sixth on the CPCA’s ranking of vehicle sellers, accounting for 3.9 percent of market share.

Chery’s mini EVs Chery Ant and Chery QQ Ice Cream together make up over 80 percent of the firm’s electric car sales. But sales of mini EVs have started to slide since November last year, CPAC said. In the first two months, sales sank 38.3 percent year on year to 96,500 units. While the sales of small electric cars jumped 31.2 percent.

“The drop in Chery’s sales can be attributed to a lack of competitiveness,” an investor in a Chery dealership told Yicai Global. “It is hard to survive in such a competitive market with only two popular models.”

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, Chery’s main competitor in the mini NEV field, is now shifting focus to small electric cars. Some 10,000 units of its Bingo model were sold in the first two weeks after its release.

Other carmakers continue to release new EV marques, such as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group’s Zeekr and BYD Auto’s Yangwang and Tengshi, intensifying the competition.

Chery has said it plans to enter the medium- and high-end NEV markets. “Chery’s new model designs are beautiful; but in such a competitive market, it is moving too slowly,” the investor said.

Editor: Kim Taylor