The first quarter of 2010 is already over and the results appear to show that auto sales are up 34% in April 2010 over a year previously, however April sales were down 10% over March. Total sales reached 1.56 million units in April alone, and January to April sales were ranked at 6.17 million units, up 60.51% over last year.
With the Chinese government raising tax on sub 1.6L cars from a record low of 5% to 7.5% 2009 auto sales of small displacement cars reached a new high, however for 2010 the tax has been raised to 7.5% which has had a knock on effect on domestic automakers that are the driving force behind small car sales.
In April, Chinese-brand passenger cars saw a 3% decrease in sales to 503,000 units compared to the March level, accounting for 45.31% of the total passenger car sales. The Japanese, German, American, Korean and French passenger car sales were 20%, 14%, 11%, 7% and 3% respectively.
During April Chinese domestic brands saw a 3% decrease in sales to 503,000 units when compared with March 2010, Chinese branded auto’s did however account for 45.31% of the market. Foreign auto sales were as following: Japanese (20%) German (14%) American (11%) Korean (7%) and French (3%)
The most popular models of cars from Jan to April were as follows:
- BYD F3 – 114,00
- Elantra – 79,600
- VW Lavida – 77,800
- VW Jetta – 75,000
- Buick Excelle – 72,700
- Xiali – 67,300
- VW Santana – 63,800
- Chevrolet Cruze – 62,300
- Honda Accord – 60,600
- Hyundai Elantra – 58,400
The Elantra appears twice due to Beijing Hyundai offering two versions of the Elantra, they have a newer Yue Dong model that has come in at second, and the older generation model that has come in at tenth. Arguably you could add the two numbers together and the Elantra would be the most popular car in China.VW appears to do well with its multi generation line up, the VW Santana and Jetta are likely to be mostly fleet sales to taxi ranks hence their high rankings month after month.
First quarter production figures are as follows:
- Shanghai GM – 300,500
- Shanghai VW – 270,300
- FAW-VW – 260,050
- BYD – 280,600
- Beijing Hyundai – 194,200
- Dongfeng-Nissan – 192,100
- Chery – 156,600
- Geely – 142,900
- FAW-Toyota – 139,200
- Chang’an-Ford – 138,800
VW are the clear winner in terms of production figures, however they are split over two JV partners where as GM is solely squared up with Shanghai Auto (SAIC). The real surprise here is the number of Chinese automakers that are high up on the list, with BYD, Chery, and Geely pushing far ahead in the charts.
April SUV Sales
The Chinese SUV market is an interesting market with large figures and is a highly competitive segment that is largely controlled by the same group of auto manufacturers.
- Greatwall Hover – 12,755
- Honda CRV – 12,180
- Toyota RAV4 – 8059
- Toyota Highlander – 6524
- Kia Sportage – 6405
The big winner here is Toyota with their two SUV line up which has so far served them well, despite setbacks regarding the Highlander and the RAV4 recalls in China. Incidentally, Toyota sales are up 32% this month in China alone. The Hover has proven to be a massively popular model, although it could be that Greatwall are now selling two or three models based on the Hover nameplate and results are grouped as one.
First Quarter SUV Sales
In the first quarter of 2010, the GWM Hover has appeared on top again:
- GWM Hover – 43,200
- Honda CRV – 39,900
- Toyota RAV4 – 33,500
- Toyota Highlander – 28,000
- Huatai Santa Fe – 25,000
First quarter MPV sales.
The MPV market was hit hard by the recession of 2009 as business users are by far the biggest buyers as home buyers generally have no need for more than 5 seats when your average family is only three years. The MPV market has rebounded strongly in April and the first quarter overall.
April Sales:
- Buick GL8 – 5602
- JAC Rui Feng – 5398
- Honda Odyssey – 3961
- Haima New Premacy – 3814
- VW Touran – 3204
In the first quarter, MPV sales were also strong:
- JAC Rui Feng – 23,800
- Buick GL8 – 18,700
- Honda Odyssey – 15,600
- Haima New Premacy – 12,100
- VW Touran – 11,100
Overall, the Chinese market is still performing very well although there was a slight blip in April with slower sales growth. China is still on target to hit an estimated final sales goal of 15 million cars this year, however the summer months are usually slow sales wise due to unusual weather patterns in Southern China, tropical storms in Guangdong, and a drought in Yunnan have peoples attention away from car buying. Also the summer months are usually just too hot for the average Chinese consumer to walk from dealership to dealership looking at cars. The hottest months for car buying are also the coldest, so October – December are likely to be hot months for the Chinese car industry again this year.
source: 2010 First Quarter Results in – who are the big winners in Q1? | China Car Times
