Profile of China's automotive industry in Feb. 2012

Following is a profile of China's automotive industry in February 2012:

-- Overview

China sold 2.95 million motor vehicles in the first two months of this year, a drop of 5.96 percent year on year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

China’s auto output totaled 2.90 million units in January to February, down 4.93 percent over the corresponding period of last year.
The monthly auto output and sales in February reached 1.61 million units and 1.57 million units respectively, up 28.48 percent and 24.51 percent year on year.

The following table specifies China’s auto sales in February and the first two months of 2012, based on the CAAM data:

 
Table 2 here specifies China’s February and January-February auto output.
 
 The following chart shows China’s monthly auto output and sales since January 2011 (in unit):
 
 
 
Here is another chart showing China’s auto sales since January 2011 (in unit):

China exported some 117,500 motor vehicles in the first two months of this year, a surge of 23.5 percent year on year.

The country’s monthly auto exports reached 61,200 units in February, up 8.7 percent from January 2012 and 41.1 percent from February 2011.     
 

-- Passenger vehicles
 

China’s passenger vehicle sales sharply rebounded in February chiefly due to seasonal factors as China’s weeklong Spring Festival holiday fell in January this year but in February last year.

Some 1,213,100 sedans, multi-purpose vehicles (MPV), sports-utility vehicles (SUV) and crossovers were sold nationwide in the month, up 26.52 percent from a year earlier and 4.53 percent from the preceding month, statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) show.

Output in the same month gained 19.74 percent month on month and 31.26 percent year on year to 1,261,500 units.

The country’s passenger vehicle sales totaled 2,373,700 units in the first two months of this year, a drop of 4.37 percent year on year, while the output in the same period fell 1.68 percent on year to 2,315,000 units.

The following table shows the sales of major sub-type passenger vehicles in February and in the first two months of 2012:

The following is a table showing the output of major sub-type passenger vehicles in February and in the first two months of 2012:

The following chart shows China’s monthly passenger vehicle sales since January 2011 (in unit): 

 Here is another chart showing China’s monthly passenger vehicle output since January 2011 (in unit):

 
China’s sales of passenger vehicles under homegrown brands reached 525,800 units in February, up 7.65 percent month on month and 17.23 percent year on year.

The monthly homebred passenger vehicle sales accounted for 43.34 percent of the total passenger vehicle sales in China, up 1.26 percentage points from January 2012 but down 3.43 percentage points from February 2011.

Sales of Japanese-, German-, American-, South Korean-, and French-brand passenger vehicles stood at 229,600, 199,600, 129,400, 94,800, and 33,900 units respectively in February, as is shown in Chart 6:
 

During the first two months of 2011, the country’s domestic brand passenger vehicles sales decreased 11.53 percent year on year to 1,014,200 units, accounting for 42.73 percent of the total passenger vehicle sales, down 3.46 percentage points from the corresponding period of 2010.

Sales of Japanese, German, American, South Korean, and French-brand passenger vehicles stood at 429,200, 393,000, 276,300, 192,800, and 68,200 units respectively in the January-February period, as is shown in Chart 7:

 
Homegrown brand sedan sales gained 8.81 percent month on month and 20.60 percent year on year to 236,000 units in February, taking up 28.50 percent of total sedan sales, up 1.30 percentage points from January 2012 but down 2.43 percentage points from February 2012.

The sedan sales of Japanese, German, American, South Korean, and French brands respectively reached 182,700, 174,000, 124,400, 77,200, and 33,900 units, as is shown in Chart 8:
   
January-February sales of domestically produced sedans fell 16.92 percent year on year to 452,900 units, accounting for 27.86 percent of China’s total sedan sales. The sedan sales of Japanese, German, American, South Korean, and French brands reached 344,000, 336,300, 264,900, 159,400, and 68,200 units respectively, as in Chart 9:
 
China's sales of sedans with engine size of 1.6 liters or below totaled 586,900 units in February, a jump of 4.7 percent month on month and 28.4 percent year on year.

Sales of such vehicles took up 70.9 percent of China's total sedan sales, up 0.6 percentage points form the preceding month but down 1.3 percentage points from February 2011.

-- Commercial vehicles
 

China’s output and sales of commercial vehicles both tumbled by over 10 percent in the first two months of this year.
 

China’s sales of commercial vehicles totaled 580,600 units in January to February, down 11.91 percent over the corresponding period of 2011, while commercial vehicle output in the period fell 15.87 percent year on year to 588,500 units.
 

The monthly commercial vehicle sales in February reached 354,000 units, up 54.37 percent month on month and 18.08 percent year on year. And the output in the month gained 41.15 percent month on month and 19.31 percent y