CCTV News: On the afternoon of April 25, the Ministry of Commerce held a special press conference. Relevant persons in charge introduced that the exchange of old products for new consumer goods increased the growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods in the first quarter by 1.6 percentage points, effectively promoting the sustained recovery and improvement of the economy.

The latest data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that as of 24:00 on April 24, 2.705 million cars were traded for old cars, 47.466 million units of 12-category home appliances were traded for new products, 36.61 million units of new products such as mobile phones, 37.123 million units of home decoration, kitchen and bathrooms were "renewed", and 4.2 million units of electric bicycles were traded for new products. Since the implementation of the policy, more than 120 million people have enjoyed the "real money" subsidy discount, driving sales of over 720 billion yuan.

Li Gang, Director of the Market Operation and Consumption Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce, introduced that driven by the policy of ex-new consumer goods, the growth rate of market sales in the first quarter rebounded, and the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 4.6% year-on-year, an acceleration of 1.1 percentage points over the whole year of the previous year. The exchange of old products for new consumer goods increased the growth rate of total retail sales in the first quarter by 1.6 percentage points, effectively promoting the sustained recovery and improvement of the economy.

Specifically, in the first quarter, the retail sales of communication equipment, home appliances, audio-visual equipment, and furniture products above the limit increased by 26.9%, 19.3% and 18.1% respectively. Among them, the increase in March was 28.6%, 35.1% and 29.5% respectively. In the first quarter, 5.127 million passenger cars were sold, an increase of 6%. Among them, it increased by 14.4% in March, setting a record high growth rate in the same period in the past 10 years.

At the same time, the consumption structure of the mobile phone market is optimized. Among the new subsidies for digital product purchases, mid-to-high-end models with a total purchase of 2,000-6,000 yuan account for about 76%. New energy vehicles maintained rapid growth. In the first quarter, 2.42 million new energy passenger cars were retailed, an increase of 36.4%, and the retail market penetration rate reached 47.2%.

In addition, resource recycling is smoother. In the first quarter, 1.955 million scrapped cars were recycled nationwide, an increase of 58.6%. Among them, the increase in February and March was 188.2% and 70.6% respectively. The dismantling enterprises under the Supply and Marketing Corporation standardized dismantling 4.825 million used household appliances, an increase of 58%. Seize the May Day holiday to carry out more "old-for-new" activities

At the press conference, a relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce introduced that in 2025, consumer goods traded with old will take advantage of the momentum and expand, and seize the May Day holiday and other nodes to organize more old-for-new consumption promotion activities.

According to reports, in 2024, consumer goods traded for new products will achieve positive results. By the end of 2024, cross-year continuation measures will be clarified in advance to ensure that consumer goods traded for old products will be implemented continuously and continuously.

Support local governments to reform and innovate, take the lead in trying out the automobile aftermarkets such as car purchase and use, and extend the automobile consumption chain. In accordance with the principle of "there are activities that promote consumption, there must be exchange for old for new", a series of activities "Buy in China" will be deployed.

Li Gang introduced that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will work with all localities and relevant departments to further strengthen overall coordination, increase promotion efforts, optimize work processes, seize key nodes during the holidays such as "May Day", organize and carry out more old-for-new consumption promotion activities, and do their best to promote consumer goods to achieve greater results.