The traditional sales peak period of golden September and silver October for is round the corner, a chance to revitalize the depressed Chinese auto market.
In July, automobile production and sales fell 11.8 percent and 7.1 percent in China compared with the same period of last year. If there comes no improvement in sales and market growth, it is likely that Chinese auto sales growth rate will slide to less than 1 percent this year, which will be a record low. So the major automakers are eager to witness the market recovery in September.
But dealers of BMW, Audi, Nissan, Toyota, Dongfeng Honda all reported no recovery in sales in the month. And the official price didn’t went through much change recently, and even some models enjoy less discounts. For example, the actual discounts on Toyota Camry has been reduced by 3,000 yuan, according to a salesman of GAC Toyota.
Chinese authorities have joined to promote the auto sales. China’s Central bank has lowered reserve requirement ratio and interest rate since August 26, in a bid to promote consumption in automobile. The decreased ratio can reduce the financial costs of financial firms so that they can introduce more preferential policies and promote vehicle purchase through various loans.
But, China's real economy has not been significantly improved, with PM I falling to 47.1, a record low in six and a half years. Additionally, consumer confidence is currently lower than the first half, according to automakers of both luxury brands and joint-venture brands.
Many automakers are still not optimistic about the current economic situation. The vehicle sales in the next months may increase compared with previous months but still lowered than the same period of last year. Therefore, they may not focus much on sales promotion, as they suffer more loss with more vehicles sold. They shit their attention on after-sales service, creating a close relation with customers and benefiting from it.
