Top 10 car, SUV models in China by September wholesale volume

China saw its PV sales in September decline 12% year on year (YoY) to around 2.0247 million units, while grew 15% compared with the previous month, according to the wholesale volume data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). From January to September, the PV sales in China (including cars, SUVs and MPVs locally produced in China) aggregated 16.9144 million units, a slight YoY increase of 1.0%.

The car sales nationwide amounted to 1.0007 million units last month, declining 13.9% from the previous year. By the end of September, a total of 8.4269 million cars were sold in China's auto market with a tiny YoY growth of 1.0%.

The Lavida took the championship again among all car models with its September sales reaching 44,579 units. Among the top 10 car models by September sales, only the Sylphy, the Elantra and the Cavalier had sales outnumbering that of the previous year.

The Excelle moved up three places to the third from the sixth in the previous month despite its 17.5% YoY sales decline. Consumers' misgiving on the three-cylinder engine led to a substantial drop in the Excelle's sales performance earlier this year. As the three-cylinder is gradually accepted by consumers, the sales of the Excelle got quick elevation from July month by month.

The SUV sales in China shrank 10.0% YoY to around 878,700 units in September, while edged up 3.9% over a year ago to 7.261 million units for the first nine months. This was the fourth month in a row for SUV monthly sales to show YoY decrease.

Seven out of the top 10 SUV models by September sales all faced double-digit YoY decline. The Haval H6 took the crown last month with a sales volume of 35,499 units, 7,157 units more than the runner-up Baojun 510. The price reduction starting from September 1 made great contribution to Haval H6's leadership.

The Qashqai enjoyed the biggest YoY growth (57.1%) among the top 10 SUV models. The Honda CR-V, ranking 10th, had a YoY sales decline of 14.7%, while its sales shot up 91% compared with the former month. Troubled by the engine issue, the sales of the CR-V steeply plunged to 1,092 units in March. The current performances may indicate a gradual dissipation of the negative influence brought by the engine problem.