Major segments in Chinese passenger automobile market in October

A total of 1.88 million passenger automobiles were sold in China in the month of October, 15.4% more than the 1.63 million sold the previous October. Growth was shared by both domestic own brand manufacturers and foreign-Sino joint venture enterprises. Sales of own brand passenger automobiles increased 27.1%. Passenger automobile sales of American and Japanese passenger automobiles increased 14.9% and 9.1%, while those of German and Korean automobiles growing 8.0% and 4.7%.

Year-on-year growth rates in the sedan market, which is still the largest source of passenger automobile sales in the country, were a lot less impressive. A total of 1.05 million sedans were sold in October, only a slightly 0.4% from the amount sold in October of 2014.

Own brands held back growth in the segment the most, with only 209,563 own brand sedans sold over the course of the month, down 9.7% from a year ago. Sales of Korean sedans fell back even more, decreasing 19.9%. By contrast, American manufacturers performed especially strongly in the sedan market, with sales of American brand sedans growing 7.4%, accounting for over a quarter of all sedans sold in the country. 212,894 Japanese sedans were sold in October, up 1.6%, while 178,602 German sedans were sold, up 5.6% from the previous year.

The SUV market continues to be the hottest portion of the Chinese passenger automobile market. SUV sales in October totaled 631,295 units, representing year-on-year growth of 62.2%.

Own brands led the segment, with a total of 354,181 units sold over the course of the month, accounting for over 56% of all SUVs sales and over 260,000 units more than the number of Japanese brand SUVs sold. That figure represented respectable growth of 85.0%. Japanese manufacturers ranked second, with their sales totaling 93,236 units, representing year-on-year growth of 42.9%. American SUV sales for the month totaled 58,400 units, up 60.4%. Sales of German and Korean brand SUVs totaled 52,761 units and 51,441 units, representing respective year-on-year growth rates of 13.0% and 41.5%.

Despite its strong showing in the SUV segment, the minivan segment are where own brand manufacturers really shine. A total of 198,029 minivans were sold in October, 179,075 of which were made by own brand manufacturers. Own brand minivan sales grew 11.4%. By comparison, foreign brand minivan sales lagged behind. Sales of Japanese, American and German minivans totaled 11,211 units, 4,661 units and 3,082 units, respectively.