According to statistics from Gasgoo.com (Chinese), sedan sales in China grew 9.0% in November. A total of 1.17 million sedans were sold in the country over the course of the month. However that small recovery was not enough to change the overall downwards trend the Chinese sedan market has been facing as of late. A total of 10.43 million sedans were sold in the country from January to November, down 6.3% year-on-year.
China’s sedan market is already very mature, with competition in the segment being very fierce. Shanghai VW led the charts for sedan sales made during the January to November timeframe, followed by FAW-VW, Shanghai GM, Beijing Hyundai, Dongfeng Nissan, Changan Ford, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën, Geely Automobile, FAW Toyota and Dongfeng Yueda Kia.
As usual, the big three of Shanghai VW, FAW-VW and Shanghai GM led the sedan market. The three manufacturers combined sold a total of 3.85 million sedans from January to November, accounting for 36.9% of all the sedans sold in the country.
Shanghai VW led the charts with 1.35 million sedans sold from January to November, representing very slight year-on-year growth of 1.4%. The VW Lavida remained Shanghai VW’s best-selling sedan model. Despite its sales falling 3.7% year-on-year, cumulative 11-month sales of the model still totaled 339,366 units. The new VW Lamando, which has only been on the market for just a year, has managed to accumulate sales of 92,971 units. Meanwhile, sales of the VW Polo and Škoda Octavia continued to increase. Cumulative 11-month sales of the two models totaled 166,465 units and 133,465 units, representing year-on-year growth rates of 13.0% and 28.6%, respectively.
FAW-VW finished just behind Shanghai VW on the sedan sales charts, with a total of 1.35 million sedans sold from January to November, down 8.8% year-on-year. Sales of all FAW-VW models, aside from the Audi A3, all fell year-on-year during that 11-month time span. Sales of the A3 increased 117.4% from 16,324 units sold from January to November of 2014 to 57,218 units sold from January to November of 2015. Meanwhile, sales of FAW-VW’s best-selling model, the VW Sagitar, fell 11.2%, totaling just 252,755 units.
Number three Shanghai GM’s sedan sales from January to November totaled 1.15 million units, down 11.3% year-on-year. The joint venture benefited a great deal from the success of the Buick Excelle, whose sales totaled 255,555 units, representing year-on-year growth of 15.0%. The Excelle has gone on to become the joint venture’s best-selling sedan model. Meanwhile sales of the Buick Regal and Buick Lacrosse grew 1.8% and 1.0%, respectively.
Geely Automobile was the best performing domestic own brand sedan manufacturer from January to November. A total of 423,251 Geely sedans were sold from January to November, representing year-on-year growth of 37.2%. Geely was the only own brand entry to make the top ten sales charts. This strong performance was due in large part to the manufacturer’s new sales strategy. January to November sales of the Emgrand EC7 grew 31.1%, totaling 182,735 units. Meanwhile, sales of the MK2 increased from 29,675 units to 108,687 units. Also performing strongly was the newly-released Kandy EV, whose sales totaled 19,856 units.
Changan Ford and FAW Toyota also achieved positive year-on-year sedan sales growth for the January to November time period. Changan Ford sold 547,539 sedans from January to November, up 2.6%, while FAW Toyota sold 412,195 sedans during the same time period, up 6.8% year-on-year.
