As the profitable months of September and October roll around, the Chinese passenger automobile market has begun to show signs of recovery, with sales growth rates increasing in the latter month. According to statistics compiled by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), a total of 1.88 million passenger automobiles were sold in China this October, up 14.9% from the amount sold in October of 2014.
Shanghai GM was the month’s best seller of passenger automobiles, followed by Shanghai VW, FAW-VW, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Beijing Hyundai, Dongfeng Nissan, Changan Ford, Changan Automobile, Great Wall and Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën. All of these companies were able to post positive growth rates for their passenger automobile sales.
Shanghai GM led the charts with a total of 160,635 passenger automobiles sold over the course of the month. The figure represented sales growth of 13.7%, year-on-year, surpassing growth rates of its two major rivals, Shanghai VW and FAW-VW. A total of 1.33 million Shanghai GM passenger automobiles have been sold over from January to September, representing positive year-on-year growth of 3.3%.
The two VW-affiliated JVs, Shanghai VW and FAW-VW, ranked second and third in terms of passenger automobiles sales this month. Shanghai VW sold a total of 153,200 vehicles over the course of the month, up 9.5% year-on-year, while FAW-VW sold 151,300 vehicles, up 3.3% year-on-year. This marks the first time in eight months that FAW-VW managed to post positive year-on-year sales growth. However, both Shanghai VW and FAW-VW suffered negative year-on-year growth rates for their cumulative sales volume for the first ten months of the year. The former has sold 1.46 million vehicles from January to September, down 1.7% year-on-year, while the latter sold 1.33 million vehicles over that same timeframe, down 10.8% year-on-year.
Beijing Hyundai, Changan Ford and Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën’s passenger automobile sales in October totaled 100,059 units, 81,322 units and 65,138, respectively. The three figures represented positive year-on-year growth rates of 82.%, 0.3% and 8.5%.
The two best performing fully domestic-owned automotive enterprises, Changan Automobile and Great Wall Motor, ranked in the eighth and ninth spots this month. Changan’s sold a total of 79,830 passenger automobiles over the course of the month, up 14.1% from last October, while Great Wall sold 71,770 passenger automobiles, up 16.7% from last October. The two manufacturers cumulative sales for the first the months of the year totaled 787,525 units and 586,708 units, representing positive year-on-year sales growth rates of 32.8% and 22.6%, respectively.
Changan Automobile, last year’s best performing own brand manufacturer, has managed to maintain a strong performance this year thanks to respectable sales volumes pulled in by its sedan and SUV models. Great Wall, meanwhile, remains a stalwart in the SUV segment, with its Haval H6 leading monthly sales charts.
SAIC-GM-Wuling performed especially well in October, with total passenger automobile sales of 122,671 units, setting a new monthly sales record for the JV. That figure represents positive year-on-year growth of 37.7%, the highest rate reported among the top ten manufacturers.
Dongfeng Nissan also achieved respectable positive year-on-year sales growth of 16.7%, as its sales increased from 85,543 passenger automobiles sold last October to 99,828 automobiles sold this October.
