Statistics from Gasgoo.com (Chinese) show that a total of 921,732 sedans were sold in China in May. That figure represents year-on-year growth of 0.6%, which marks the first month that several that sales haven’t decreased year-on-year.
Although smaller A-class vehicles are still constitute the largest portion of the sedan segment, B-class sedans still account for 17% of all sales in the segment.
German and Japanese vehicles made most of the top ten best-selling B-class models of the month. The Hyundai Verna (pictured below), which was the only Korean model in the top ten, led the sales charts, followed by the VW Passat and Honda Yaris. In addition to the five German models and three Japanese models in the top ten, there was also one US model. By contrast, only a single own brand model, the Geely GC9 (pictured further below), was able to rank in the top 20, with total monthly sales of 4,024 units. No other own brand models came nearly in close in terms of rankings.
JV B-class sedan models like the Passat, Camry, Yaris and Mondeo have easily dominated domestic offerings like the BenBen B70, B90, BAIC Senova D70 and Changan Raeton. That said, own brand offerings are very close to their JV rivals when it comes to specifications, accessories and price point. However, conceptions among Chinese consumers have led to poor sales among own brand models. Even Changan, the country’s most successful own brand automobile manufacturer, has had a hard time attracting over 1,000 monthly sales for its Raeton.
Although own brand manufacturers are not seeing much success from the B-class sedan segment, even JVs are seeing sales of their B-class models falling. A lot of this is due to Chinese consumers moving on towards SUVs and other pricier models. This is a major factor why sales of Chinese hatchbacks have fallen. Own brand manufacturers have also been aware of this trend, with Changan, Great Wall and SAIC focusing more on SUV models. As models like the Great Wall Haval H6, Changan CS75 and Southeast DX7 continue to receive widespread praise for their competitive features and pricing, own brands too are seeing their brand reputation increase, which may prove helpful for sales of future sedan models.
