(Yicai) Oct. 11 -- Honda Motor’s sales tumbled by more than 40 percent in China for the third consecutive month in September, as fuel-powered cars increasingly cede ground to new energy vehicles in the world's largest auto market.

Honda's retail sales fell 43 percent to 62,586 units in China last month from a year earlier, the Japanese carmaker said yesterday. Year-on-year sales have declined for nine consecutive months, sinking 29 percent to just over 588,000 in three quarters ended Sept. 30.

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are becoming increasingly popular due to government incentives, better infrastructure, and consumer demand for green mobility. Chinese brands such as BYD, Nio, and XPeng lead the market, posing a major challenge to foreign automakers, especially those that still rely heavily on internal combustion engine vehicles.

The market share of joint venture fuel vehicle makers is gradually being eroded. Leading JVs sold only 480,000 autos in August, down 27 percent from a year ago, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Japanese marques suffered the biggest decline among foreign brands, with their market share dropping 4.2 percentage points to just 12.6 percent.

All three major Japanese automakers -- Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, and Honda Motor -- have seen their China sales shrink over the past three years. The market share of Japan’s car manufacturers fell to 14.9 percent in the first half of this year from 17 percent last year, 20 percent in 2022, and 22.6 percent in 2021.

To adapt to China’s fast-growing NEV market, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda have focused on developing EVs. Honda is building NEV factories in the country. That of Dongfeng Honda Automobile, the firm’s JV with Dongfeng Motor Group, went live last month, while that of GAC Honda Automobile, its JV with Guangzhou Automobile Group, is scheduled to start up next month. 

Honda has already launched several NEV models in China, including the e:NS1, the e:NS2, the e:NP1, and the e:NP2, but sales have disappointed. In the first half of this year, it sold around 13,000 EVs, accounting for only 0.7 percent of its total sales.

Editor: Martin Kadiev