SUV sales lead the Chinese passenger automobile market in November

With the introduction of effective economic stimulus policies and the traditional buying craze in the lead up to Chinese New Year, the Chinese passenger automotive market ushered in a resurgence in November. According to Gasgoo.com (Chinese) statistics, a total of 2.11 million automobiles were sold in the country over the course of the month, representing year-on-year growth of 24.6% compared to the 1.69 million automobiles sold last November. Both the monthly sales volume and year-on-year sales growth rate were record highs for the year. A total of 17.81 million automobiles have been sold in China from January to November, representing year-on-year growth of 8.2%.

Various manufacturers in the market have benefited from this increase in sales as a whole. Domestic own brand manufacturers posted the most impressive performance, with a total of 831,932 own brand passenger automobiles sold in November, representing strong sales growth of 30.6%. Own brands saw their share in the passenger automotive market increase to 39.3%. Own brands benefited greatly from SUV sales, with over 47% of all SUVs sold in the country being made by own brands.

Among foreign brands, German brand passenger automobiles achieved high sales growth of 31.4% in November, with their monthly sales totaling 400,276 units. Japanese and American brand passenger automobile sales, which totaled 351,357 units and 270,808 units, also enjoyed good double-digit sales growth rates of 18.7% and 22.8%, respectively. Korean and French passenger automobile sales grew 11.5% and 7.3%, respectively.

SUVs remained the major driver of passenger automobile sales growth in November. A total of 715,083 SUVs were sold in November, up 69.5% from the previous year. SUVs accounted for 33.8% of all passenger automobiles sold in the country, up 9 percentage points from last November.

The sedan market, whose sales have contracted over the year, have seen some recovery in November, with a total of 1.17 million sedans sold over the course of the month. Sedan sales, which accounted for over 55% of all passenger automobiles sold in November, grew 9.0% from last year. Minivan sales in November totaled 231,356 units, representing year-on-year growth of 14.0%.