There has been a noticeable trend towards smaller and smaller sized SUVs in the Chinese automobile market over the past two years. This trend has continued into this year, with small SUVs making up one-third of all SUV sales in the country over the first two months of the year.
According to statistics from Gasgoo.com (Chinese), a total of 269,300 SUVs were sold over the first two months of this year, representing rapid year-on-year growth of 203 percent. The small SUV market is by far the quickest growing SUV segment in the country.
One important aspect of the small SUV market is the prominent role domestic own brand manufacturers play. Own brand small SUV sales over the first two months of the year totaled 174,300 units, accounting for over 60 percent of all small SUVs sold during the time period. However it is equally worth noting that the increasing competition from foreign brands has eroded away at this market share.
The JAC Refine S3 was the best selling small SUV over the first two months of the year, followed by Changan’s CS35, Great Wall’s Haval H2, Chery’s Tiggo 3, Hyundai’s ix25, Honda’s Vezel, Peugeot’s 2008, Ford’s EcoSport, Honda’s XR-V and Great Wall’s Haval H1. Seven of the entries on the list were new models.
Of the vehicles coming from previous charts, sales of the Changan CS35 near doubled, while those of the Tiggo3 also grew 132 percent. The CS35, which was the second-most successful small SUV model, benefited from its fashionable design, wealth of accessories and competitive price point.
The best-selling small SUV, the JAC Refine S3, managed to post sales of 36,400 units, ranking as the third best-selling SUV overall, surpassed only by the Haval H6 and VW Tiguan. The Refine’s performance was very impressive for JAC, which released the model last August. The vehicle’s competitive price point has been attributed as one of its major advantages.
