China’s midsize sedan market in October

Despite a slight leveling off of new sedan sales in China, due mainly to recently unveiled tax policies, the midsize segment in the country continued to see its sales decrease in October.

According to Gasgoo.com (Chinese) statistics, a total of 1.05 million sedans were sold in the country, representing very slight year-on-year negative growth of 0.3%. Despite this growth rate still being negative, it is still far better than the double digit negative growth rates seen in previous months. This improvement in the new car sales was seen by many to be influenced by recently introduced tax policies which have helped encourage consumer spending.

However, despite this recent upturn, the midsize segment in particular still continues to see sales fall sharply. A total of 187,800 midsize sedans were sold in October, down 8.8% from the previous year. 1.76 million midsize sedans were sold from January to October, representing negative year-on-year growth of 2.1%.

Sales of midsize models from Sino-foreign joint ventures have fallen on the whole. Midsize sales made by American and Japanese-affiliated JVs fell 19.5% and 12.6%, respectively. By comparison, German midsize sales, which lead the market as a whole, suffered negative sales growth of 2.9%. 63,900 German midsize sedans were sold in October.

Domestic own brand manufacturers have benefited greatly from the constant release of popular new models. 10,700 midsize sales were of own brand models, representing year-on-year growth of 19%. The Geely Borui was one of these models, with its sales in October nearing the 5,000 units mark, becoming the best-selling own brand midsize sold during the month.

Even though own brands as a whole have performed strongly in the segment, individual own brand models still lack the competitiveness to deal with offerings from Sino-foreign JVs. The Volkswagen Passat was the best-selling midsize model in October. It was followed by the VW Magotan, Hyundai Mistra, Toyota Camry, Audi A4, Ford New Mondeo, Honda Accord, Nissan New Teana, Buick Regal and BMW 3 Series.

The VW Passat and VW Magotan continue to lead the segment into October with respective sales volumes of 17,400 units and 14,500 units. Both models saw their monthly sales fall, decreasing 12.6% and 19.7%, respectively. Despite this decrease, the two model are still substantially popular in the country and have played a crucial rule in aiding Shanghai VW and FAW-VW.

The Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Buick Regal also suffered negative year-on-year sales growth rates in the double digits. The Accord’s sales fell 19.7%, while those of the Camry and Regal’s sales fell 19.7% and 10.0%, respectively.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Mistra, which finished third in the sales chart, managed to achieve positive sales growth of 5.4%. It has been widely praised for its competitive price point. The Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series also posted positive sales growth rates of 6.7% and 12.9%, achieving monthly sales of 10,600 units and 8,245 units, respectively.