Time is fleeting, with 2014 already nearing its end. Looking back at the last three quarters of the year, the domestic passenger automobile market has been growing steadily, with a total of 13.13 million automobiles sold, representing year-on-year growth of 13.2 percent. Most passenger automobile manufacturers posted strong growth rates, however at the same quite a few manufacturers that risk falling short of their annual targets for 2014.
Essentially speaking, by the third quarter of the year, manufacturers should have at least completed 75 percent of their set 2014 sales targets. However the number of manufacturers that have actually managed to do this remain in the minority. According to Gasgoo.com (Chinese) statistics, only seven of the 24 top passenger automobile manufacturers have completed at least of 75 percent of their sales targets. They are namely: Changan, Shanghai VW, FAW-VW, Brilliance BMW, Shanghai GM, Dongfeng Liuzhou and Changan Ford.
European and American brands’ performance were relatively strong, with Japanese manufacturers and own brands generally doing much poorer.
The two Volkswagen manufacturers performed as expected. As of the third quarter, Shanghai VW has sold 1.35 million units, representing 84.3 percent of its 1.6 million units sales target for 2014. The Lavida, Santana, Tiguan and Passat all performed very well, with sales of the Lavida and Santana totaling 291,900 units and 256,400 units, respectively. FAW-VW, meanwhile, sold 1.34 million units, 79.4 percent of its 1.7 million units goal. The FAW-VW Sagitar, Jetta, New Bora and Magotan were all crucial in driving the JV’s performance forward. The Sagitar and Jetta’s sales were especially strong, with 235,000 units and 225,000 units sold in the first three quarters of the year. Sales of the FAW VW Golf nearly doubled this year.
Brilliance BMW’s sales grew 30 percent this year. The joint venture has sold 210,000 vehicles so far over the first three quarters of the year, having completed 77.8 percent of its established annual sales goal.
The French Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën joint venture fell just short of the 75 percent mark of its 700,000 unit sales target, with a total of 518,500 vehicles sold. However, the 700,000 unit sales target is a new one set by the joint venture during the course of this year, up from the original 650,000 unit sales target set at the beginning of 2014.
