China is now entering a new era where small SUVs rule the market. Smaller SUVs are becoming more and more popular among Chinese buyers. As a result, an increasing number of enterprises are introducing small SUV models, making the market all the more competitive. According to statistics from Gasgoo.com (Chinese), small SUV sales in China jumped 88.4% from just 56,527 units last July to 106,500 units this July. A total of 918,600 small SUVs have been sold over the first seven months of the year, representing positive year-on-year growth of 156.2%. Small SUV sales now account for 29.6% of all passenger automobiles sold in the country.
JAC’s Refine S3 was the country’s best-selling small SUV in July. It was followed by the Honda XR-V, Honda Vezel, Great Wall Haval H2, Changan CS35, Cherry Tiggo 3, Hyundai ix25, BAIC Zhonghua V3, Buick Encore and Citroën C3-XR. Half of the top ten list consisted of models sold by own brand manufacturers.
The Great Wall Haval H2, Changan CS35 and Chery Tiggo 3 continue to perform strongly, with the former two models managing to achieve breakthrough sales growth rates in the triple digits. Sales of the Haval H2 increased from just 1,260 units sold last July to 10,024 units sold this July in just one year on the market. The model’s monthly sales have exceeded 10,000 units. Meanwhile, the Changan CS35 achieved sales growth of 145%, totaling 9,589 units in July. The CS35’s strong performance has played a crucial role in allowing Changan to lead the rest of the own brand market. By contrast, sales of the Tiggo 3, while respectable, actually decreased 26.5% from last July.
Those three models were joined by two newly-released own brand models, the JAC Refine S3 and BAIC Zhonghua V3. The Refine S3’s performance in particular has been especially noteworthy, as it went on to become the month’s best-selling small SUV with a total of 11,982 units sold.
Among Sino-foreign joint venture models, the Honda XR-V and Honda Vezel continue to post strong sales numbers, with respective monthly sales volumes of 10,204 units and 10,085 units. In contrast to the rapid sales decreases several JV models have suffered, both the XR-V and Vezel achieved respectable sales growth rates. Sales of Japanese-affiliated JVs increased an average of 24.6% in July.
The Hyundai ix25, Buick Envision and Citroën C3-XR also managed to make the top ten. Despite being on the market for several years, the Buick Envision has only achieved monthly sales of 4,676 units.
