Automotive stocks in Hong Kong continued their recent downward trend.

At the time of writing, shares of XPENG-W (09868) were down 7.05% at HK$55.35.

Shares of LI AUTO-W (02015) fell 3.93% to HK$52.55.

GAC GROUP (02238) declined 2.07% to HK$2.37, while GWMOTOR (02333) dropped 1.55% to HK$10.19.

The market movement follows the release of industry data.

Figures from the China Passenger Car Association show that from May 1 to 31, retail sales in the national passenger vehicle market reached 1,545,000 units.

This represents a 20% year-on-year decrease, though it is a 12% increase compared to the previous month.

A significant development highlighted by a major automotive data platform is that the top ten best-selling models in May's retail sales rankings were all new energy vehicles.

This marks the first time that conventional fuel-powered cars have been completely absent from this top-tier list.

Concurrently, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles has surpassed 60%, prompting discussions on restructuring the existing fuel tax and fee system.

According to a financial report, several tax and finance experts have commented that, considering principles of fairness, the funding gap for road maintenance, the growing share of new energy vehicle consumption, and industry development, it is an inevitable trend for electric vehicles to bear part of the road maintenance costs.

However, they noted that building a consensus for reform and implementing changes gradually will be necessary.