According to the terminal registration data, 1020 new energy sanitation vehicles were sold in December 2024, a year-on-year increase of 28.1% from 796 vehicles in December 2023, and a month on month increase of 29.3% (789 new energy sanitation vehicles were sold in November 2024), indicating that the new energy sanitation vehicle market in December 2024 achieved dual growth on a same month on month basis!

From January to December 2024, a total of 9709 new energy sanitation vehicles were sold, representing a year-on-year increase of 55%.

So, what are the main characteristics of the new energy sanitation vehicle market in December 2024 and throughout the year? Here is a brief analysis.

Achieve double growth on a month on month basis in December

According to the terminal registration data, 1020 new energy sanitation vehicles were sold in December 2024, an increase of 29.3% compared to 789 vehicles in November 2024, and a year-on-year increase of 28.1% compared to 796 vehicles in December 2023.

In December 2024, the year-on-year growth of new energy sanitation vehicles was 28.1%. According to analysis, this was mainly due to the impact of the withdrawal of new energy vehicle purchase subsidies in the same period of 2023, which resulted in a low sales base. In addition, the recent scrapping of old trucks and the implementation of new subsidy policies led to an increase in demand for new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024, resulting in a year-on-year growth of new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024.

In December 2024, the sales of new energy sanitation vehicles increased by 29.3% compared to the previous month. According to analysis, the main reason is that December 2024 is the closing month of the year, and driven by the "trade in subsidy policy until December 31, 2024", end-users have increased their pace of updates, which has pushed up the sales of new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024, resulting in a month on month growth in December.

Monthly same cycle ratio in December and cumulative year-on-year for the whole year

Outperform the overall market of sanitation vehicles

Table 1: According to the terminal registration data, the growth rate of new energy environmental sanitation vehicles in December 2024 compared to environmental sanitation vehicles and the cumulative year-on-year comparison with the overall environmental sanitation vehicle market:

As shown in the table above:

In December 2024, the sales volume of new energy sanitation vehicles increased by 28.1% year-on-year, outperforming the 7.2% growth rate of the sanitation vehicle market in December 2024 by nearly 21 percentage points;

The sales volume of new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024 increased by 29.3% month on month, outperforming the 25.7% growth rate of the sanitation vehicle market in December 2024 by nearly 3.6 percentage points;

From January to December 2024, the cumulative year-on-year growth rate of new energy sanitation vehicles reached 55%, outperforming the overall sanitation vehicle market by nearly 60.6 percentage points at a growth rate of -5.6%.

In summary, the year-on-year growth rate of new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024 and the cumulative year-on-year growth rate for the whole year have both outperformed the overall sanitation vehicle market.

According to research analysis, the main reasons are:

One is due to the support of national and local policies.

Since 2024, the government has issued a series of favorable policies to support the development of new energy vehicles, which is beneficial for the growth of new energy sanitation vehicles since 2024.

Secondly, with the development of urbanization, the scale of cities in China continues to expand, and the requirements for urban air quality are becoming increasingly high. Currently, traditional power powered sanitation vehicles operating in cities are gradually being replaced by electrification;

Thirdly, many regions have experienced fiscal and economic deficits, resulting in reduced procurement plans for traditional sanitation vehicles.

Due to the current economic environment, many regions across the country are experiencing fiscal deficits. In order to reduce development, some areas have reduced their procurement plans for traditional sanitation vehicles funded by local finances.

In December 2024, new energy sanitation vehicles outperformed the overall sanitation vehicle market mainly because the sales base of new energy sanitation vehicles in November 2024 was not too high, while the sales base of traditional power sanitation vehicles was relatively high in November 2024. The combined effect of the two resulted in new energy sanitation vehicles outperforming the overall sanitation vehicle market in December 2024 on a month on month basis.

Market penetration rate of new energy sanitation vehicles in December and January December

15.16% and 13.36% respectively

Table 22024 Penetration rate and year-on-year changes of new energy sanitation vehicles in December and January December (data source: terminal registration)

The above table shows that the market penetration rate of new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024 was 15.16%, an increase of 2.48 percentage points compared to 12.68% in December 2023; The market penetration rate of new energy sanitation vehicles from January to December 2024 was 13.36%, an increase of 5.24 percentage points from 8.12% in January to December 2023. It can be seen that both in December 2024 and from January to December, the market penetration rate of new energy sanitation vehicles has significantly increased year-on-year, indicating that the electrification process of domestic sanitation vehicles is accelerating.

According to research analysis, it is mainly due to the continuous efforts of the "dual carbon" strategy and the sustained empowerment of policies.

Firstly, the continuous implementation of the dual carbon strategy has led to a year-on-year increase in new energy sanitation vehicles in December and January December 2024. However, the overall market growth rate of sanitation vehicles in December and January December 2024 was lower than that of new energy sanitation vehicles, resulting in a corresponding increase in the market penetration rate of new energy sanitation vehicles in December and January December 2024;

Secondly, new energy sanitation vehicles have good environmental benefits. Pure electric sanitation vehicles achieve zero exhaust emissions during operation, effectively reducing the concentration of pollutants in urban air and improving urban environmental quality.

At the same time, new energy sanitation vehicles can reduce noise, and due to their motor-driven characteristics, the operating noise is significantly reduced. This can effectively reduce urban noise pollution, especially when carrying out sanitation operations during noise sensitive periods such as early morning and late night, and reduce interference with residents' lives, improving their living comfort.

Thirdly, the economic benefits are significant. Although the initial purchase cost of new energy sanitation vehicles may be high, their cost advantage is evident from long-term operation.

Using the Zhonglian brand 8-ton pure electric vehicleCompression garbage trucksTaking diesel compression garbage trucks as an example. According to the procurement information published on the Chinese government procurement website, the purchase cost of electric sanitation vehicles is 820000 yuan higher than that of diesel sanitation vehicles (1.36 million yuan/vehicle for electric vehicles and 448000 yuan/vehicle for diesel vehicles).

However, in terms of operation, if the average driving speed of sanitation vehicles is 45km/h, the daily driving time is 6 hours, and the annual operating days are 360 days, the annual operating cost of diesel sanitation vehicles is 126000 yuan, and the annual operating cost of electric sanitation vehicles is 15000 yuan, a difference of nearly 10 times.

Annual sales hit a new high in recent years

According to the terminal registration data, the sales statistics of new energy sanitation vehicles in China in the past 5 years are as follows:

The above figure shows that in 2024, a total of 9709 new energy sanitation vehicles were sold, setting a new five-year high. Mainly due to the strong driving force of policies and the increase in market demand. The specific reasons have been analyzed in the previous text.

Pure electric vehicles lead gains, fuel cells lead losses

Table 3: According to the terminal registration data and by technical route, the year-on-year sales volume, proportion, and year-on-year increase/decrease of various types of new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024 and the whole year are as follows:

The above chart shows that, divided by technical route, in the year-on-year and proportion of sales of various types of new energy sanitation vehicles in December and January December 2024:

1. From a year-on-year growth perspective, pure electric vehicles led the market with increases of 32% and 59% respectively; The year-on-year growth of hybrid vehicles was 11.25% and 45.9%, respectively; Fuel cells saw year-on-year growth of -42.1% and -44.2% respectively, leading the market in decline;

2. From the perspective of sales proportion and year-on-year increase/decrease in proportion:

The market share of pure electric sanitation vehicles is 90.2% and 90% respectively, occupying an absolute dominant position, and their proportion has increased by 2.7 and 2.0 percentage points year-on-year, both of which are the only sub models with an increase in proportion. It can be seen that pure electric vehicles will lead the industry in all technical routes of new energy sanitation vehicles in December 2024 and from January to December; Mainly because pure electric technology is mature, energy replenishment is convenient, zero emissions can be achieved, and the promotion cost is relatively low.

Hybrid vehiclesThe market share is 8.7% and 9.2% respectively, both ranking second, and the proportion has decreased by 1.3 and 0.6 percentage points year-on-year, respectively; It can be seen that the proportion of hybrid models will decrease in both December 2024 and January December 2024;

The market share of fuel cell sanitation vehicles is 1.1% and 0.8% respectively, both of which are the smallest, and their share has decreased by 1.4 percentage points year-on-year, making them the segment with the largest year-on-year decrease in share. According to analysis, the main reasons for the low promotion enthusiasm are the high cost of promoting fuel cell vehicle models, coupled with the limited number of hydrogen refueling stations and inconvenient energy replenishment.

In short, whether in December 2024 or from January to December, pure electric vehicle models are leading the market in all technical routes of new energy sanitation vehicles.

New energy washing and sweeping vehicles rank first

According to their usage and application scenarios, new energy sanitation vehicles can be subdivided into washing and sweeping vehicles, cleaning vehicles, self loading and unloading garbage trucks, road maintenance vehicles, and bucket garbage transport vehicles. According to the terminal registration information, the sales volume and proportion of various new energy environmental sanitation vehicles in December 2024 and January December are as follows:

Table 4:

The above chart shows that in the sales proportion of various new energy sanitation vehicles in December and January December 2024, the proportion of washing and sweeping vehicles ranks first and leads other sub models. In summary, the domestic market for new energy sanitation vehicles performed relatively well in December 2024 and throughout the year.