Sales of foreign brand passenger automobiles in May

Sales of foreign branded passenger automobiles fell again this May. According to statistics from Gasgoo.com (Chinese), a total of 1.52 million passenger automobiles were sold in China in May, down 4.1% from the previous year. Likewise, passenger automobile sales also decreased the previous month, when they fell 6.1%. These decreases were mainly due to the declining performance of foreign brand passenger automobiles. A total of 981,994 foreign brand passenger automobiles were sold during the course of the month, down 2.9% from the 1.01 million units sold last May. Foreign brands’ combined stake in the Chinese passenger automobile market was 64.5% for the month of May, down 4.7% from the 69.2% figure from a year ago.

Japanese passenger automobile brands’ sales increased in May, while those of other countries’ brands all decreased varying levels. A total of 289,869 Japanese passenger automobiles were sold during the course of the May, representing positive year-on-year growth of 14.9%. Japanese passenger automobile sales for the first five months of the year totaled 1.22 million units combined, representing positive year-on-year growth of 1.7%. Japanese models that managed to perform especially well included the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Levin, Honda Vezel and Nissan XR-V.

Sales of German, US, Korean and French brands all fell in May, with German brand sales falling the most. A total of 307,594 German passenger automobiles were sold in May, down 9.8% from the previous year. Combined sales of US and Korean brand automobiles totaled 184,400 units and 129,000 units, representing negative year-on-year growth rates of 9.4% and 9.8%, respectively. A total of 62,800 French automobiles were sold in the country, also down from last May.

Volkswagen was the best performing foreign brand in the Chinese passenger automobile market for the month of May. It was followed by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Buick, Ford, Kia, Chevrolet and Audi. Sales of the above ten manufacturers totaled 804,727 units, accounting for 81.9% of all passenger automobiles sold in May. Among them only Toyota and Honda reported positive sales growth.

A total of 205,556 Volkswagens were sold in the country in May, down 12.1% from the previous year. Aside from the Polo, monthly sales volumes of major VW models also decreased from the previous year.

Toyota and Honda’s sales respectively increased 32.3% and 40.7%. Monthly sales of Toyotas and Hondas in Japan totaled 92,520 units and 83,016 units, respectively, allowing them to take the top two and three spots in the rankings.

Fellow Japanese brand Nissan’s sales deceased in May, down 5.6% from the previous year. Nissan’s sales of 72,600 units was surpassed by the 80,022 units Hyundai sold, down 12.1% from last year.

Audi was the only luxury brand making this month’s top ten sales chart with a total of 41,760 vehicles sold.