Chinese compact sedan market in August

Compared with first-time automobile buyers, purchasers of second or third automobiles exhibit more individual and diversified demands. These buyers are more inclined to purchase SUVs and minivans. Trends like this have caused the amount of sedan sales to decrease over the years. As the largest sedan segment, compact sales in particular have fallen significantly.

According to statistics compiled by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), a total of 455,144 compact sedans were sold in August, down 16% from the 541,992 compacts sold last August. Compact sales as a proportion of all passenger automobiles sold in the country has decreased from over 40% last August to just one-third this August.

This negative trend is apparent when looking at sales of compacts by brand origin. German brands continue to dominate the compact segment, with a total of 146,267 vehicles sold, down 11.9% from last August. Own brand compact sales fell 20.4% to 89,046 units. Sales of French and Korean compacts fell 27.6% and 57.9%, respectively. American and Japanese brand compact sales performed slightly better. Combined Japanese compact sales only fell 5.5% in August. Despite that, some Japanese manufacturers like Toyota performed poorly, whose compact sales fell 36.7%. American compact sales actually increased a slight 4.4%, from 84,503 units sold in August 2014 to 88,257 units sold in August 2015. This was due to in great part due to the strong performances of models like the Buick Excelle and Ford Focus.

The Buick Excelle was the best-selling compact model in August. It was followed by the VW Lavida, Nissan Bluebird Sylphy, VW Sagitar, VW Jetta, VW Golf, Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cruze, VW New Bora and Hyundai Elantra.

The Buick Excelle has performed especially strong, with a total of 30,159 units sold in August. The Excelle has trumped its major competitors to lead the sales charts, with its sales growing a full 77.4%. The Excelle’s performance was much better than those of the other American models making the charts, the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze. Sales of the Cruze were nearly on par from last year, while those of the Focus fell a full 37.8%.

As before, the majority of the monthly sales chart was comprised of a number of VW models. The VW Lavida, which was the leader in previous months, has fallen to second place with a total sales volume of 28,110 units and positive sales growth of 16.1%. Sales of the Golf increased a slight 2.8%, while sales of the other three VW models, the Sagitar, Jetta and New Bora all suffered double-digit negative sales growth rates.

Only one Japanese compact, the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy, made the sales charts. Its sales totaled 25,794 units, representing positive sales growth of 35.5%. By contrast, the Toyota Corolla, which was previously a darling of the compact market, has seen its sales fall a full 52.7% in August, with only 8,129 units sold.