Although most forecasts had pinned that domestic own brand automobile sales would continue to fall, there have been cases of own brand s succeeded in particular segments.
Geely’s Emgrand brand is a good example, as China Automobile Consulting Committee Deputy Director An Qingheng pointed out: “The Emgrand’s success is due to the strong positive responses from its products, as is the success of the Changan own brand.” A representative from a Chinese dealership network goes on further to predict that own brands have a dominant position in third-tier and fourth-tier markets, with Changan, Geely and Chery all tipped as strong contenders.
SAIC-GM-Wuling’s own brand sales are the most successful in the country, with its sales in 2014 totaling 932,600 units. Sales of the Wuling Hongguang totaled 750,000 units, with average monthly sales being 62,500 units. Likewise, the Baojun 730 (pictured) has also performed very strongly, with over 120,000 units sold since its launch.
Accurate market positioning and positive response from consumers have been cited as the major factors behind the Hongguang and Baojun 730’s success. Other own brand vehicles that have achieved strong sales results in China include the Haval H6, Cherry Tiggo 3 and Cherry Tiggo 5.
