(Yicai Global) Feb. 7 -- Chinese carmakers saw sales of their new energy vehicles surge last month despite the higher cost of some models and a cut in government subsidies.

Auto and battery giant BYD sold 93,168 NEVs in January, up 362 percent from a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Feb. 3.

Among the nation’s NEV startups, Xpeng was the top seller with almost 13,000 units delivered last month, a 155 percent increase. Li Auto and Hozon Auto followed with 12,268 and 11,009, gains of 128 percent and 402 percent, respectively. Nio’s total was 9,652, up 109 percent, while Leap Motor’s soared 434 percent to 8,085.

China cut NEV purchase subsidies by 30 percent at the beginning of this year and plans to completely remove them by December, as the sector no longer needs state support because sales are robust, the finance ministry and other authorities said in a joint statement on Dec. 31.

In response, firms such as Tesla, Hozon, GAC Ion New Energy Vehicle, and FAW-Volkswagen Automobile, a joint venture of Germany’s Volkswagen and China’s FAW Group, hiked the price of some models by between CNY2,000 and CNY21,000 (USD315 and USD3,300). Other NEV makers like Nio and Xpeng decided to absorb some of the higher costs.

But the NEV market is still expected to maintain rapid growth this year. Sales of new energy passenger cars will hit 5.5 million this year, achieving a penetration rate of 25 percent, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects sales to reach five million.

Everbright Securities is optimistic about demand for NEVs, especially rising sales of high-end all-electric and plug-in hybrid models, the broker said in a recent research note.

Carmakers will offset policy-based market fluctuations by retaining orders and maintaining retail prices for a limited time, it added, noting that the main factors for sales growth are still capacity, supply chains, and logistics.

Editor: Futura Costaglione