The Koreans have made a come back into the Chinese market with a surprise attack from the China only Hyundai Elantra. The new Elantra has gained top spot by a large lead over its rival the Corolla in June.
- Hyundai Elantra - 24,257 cars sold (May 20,446)
- Toyota Corolla 19,722 (May 19,924)
- VW Santana 19,481 (May 16,144)
- VW Jetta 17,135 (May 16,232)
- Buick Excelle15,560 (May 11,139)
- Chery QQ 12,073 (May 9167)
- 7th Gen Honda Accord 12,042 (May 15,917)
- Toyota Camry 10,386 (May 12,349)
- Ford Focus 9,755 (May 9,567)
- Chevrolet Lova/Aveo 9,520 (May 11,337)
All in all, a good month for smaller cars, with bigger cars such as the new Accord and Honda Camry falling down the ranks, probably as a result of the massive hike in fuel prices although the high rise in fuel costs probably wont hit the sales results until the end of July.
wow very weird, normally the Korean wouldn’t even make it to the top 5 and now they knocked out the the Germans, I need to check to see if hell has been frozen. are you sure you got the right info, ash ?
ASh
this is what i got for May sales
Rank / Sedan brands / Automaker / May sales
1. / Jetta / FAW VW / 18,243
2. / Santana / Shanghai VW / 17,562
3. / Accord / Guangzhou Honda / 15,923
4. / Corolla / Tianjin FAW Toyota / 15,228
5. / Elantra / Beijing Hyundai / 12,239
6. / Camry / Guangzhou Toyota / 12.070
7. / Lova / Shanghai GM / 11,337
8. / Excelle / Shanghai GM / 11,140
9. / Xiali / Tianjin-FAW-Xiali / 9,782
10. / Focus / Changan Ford / 9,658
As published by Sina this morning!
Back on top, and run through the middle with Korean Excelles, Lovas, QQs, and Aveos…..
My understanding is that this is the combined sales figure for the Elantra XD(Old) and Elantra HD(New)???
Elantra HD is a good car, actually rated above Honda Civic by Consumer Report in the US.
Still hate China, I_Hate_China ?
I’m thinking that our of the top ten cars in China, only the Jetta, Corolla, Camry and Aveo and Elantra are sold in the US. (The Accord is the “Euro Accord, no? And the Focus is also the Euro Focus)
For amusement’s sake, here are the number from the US for June.
Jetta: 8698
Corola: 42180
Elantra: 14482
Camry: 41572
Aveo: can’t find numbers - perhaps a different car?
Also, based on your previous numbers, best selling SUVs are moving about 5 or 6K units a month, which would mean they are out of the top ten.
Best US selling cars of May 2008:
1. Honda Civic: 53,299
2. Toyota Corolla: 52,826
3. Toyota Camry: 51,291
4. Honda Accord: 43,728
5. Nissan Altima: 34,428
6. Ford Focus: 32,579
7. Chevrolet Cobalt: 26,702
8. Chevrolet Impala: 23,803
9. Ford Fusion: 18,088
10. Chevrolet Malibu: 15,634
> I’m thinking that our of the top ten cars in China, only the Jetta, Corolla, Camry and Aveo and Elantra are sold in the US.
Don’t forget Jetta and Excelle. Aveo isn’t Excelle, but Suzuki Forenza here.
> The Accord is the “Euro Accord, no?
US Accord / JP Inspire.
And Euro Accord is also sold in the US as Acura TSX.
The US chevy websites lists an “Aveo” which looks much like the global daweoo version.
The excelle is sold in the US as the Suzuki Forenza? Or Suzuki Reno?
So why the hell is buick considered a good brand if china if it just dumping out a Lanceti as a middle market car?
Daewoo Matiz = Chevy Matiz(Europe)/Spark(China) = Chery QQ3
Daewoo Kalos = Chevy Aveo(US and Europe)
Daewoo Lacetti = Chevy Lacetti(Europe) = Buick Excelle(China) = Suzuki Forenza/Reno(USA)
> So why the hell is buick considered a good brand if china if it just dumping out a Lanceti as a middle market car?
Because Chinese have a positive impression of all things American. Buick’s Americaness is the reason for its strong showing in China.
I_Hate_China, you talk as if you know alot about China and Chinese. are you even Chinese to make that assertive comment ?
I hate china, thanks. I agree with your analysis, but how long can Buick market “Americaness” when they are selling rebadged Koreans? Thanks for the updates on the Daweoos.
Buick is riding on the reputation of its larger cars in China, which are for most part superior than their American equivalents. Take, for example, the Chinese LaCrosse. Also the Park Avenue, which is a rebadged Holden - this model is not sold as a Buick in North America.
Agreed with the assessment of their smaller cars, however. Does the newly-redesigned Excelle still share a lot of parts with the Daewoo?
Yes, still a Daewoo Lacetti.
> I agree with your analysis, but how long can Buick market “Americaness” when they are selling rebadged Koreans?
In the US, Aveo ad’s banner reads “American Revolution”.
GM has no problem selling cheap Daewoos as “American Revolution” in USA, and I am sure GM has no trouble doing the same in China.
You mean 8th gen Accord, right?
What I don’t quite get is Chevrolet - Lova/Aveo is priced right for what you get, but they’ve priced the Epica quite up-market in my opinion.
If there are two Korean cars I have to say I really like, its the Kia Sportage (although low MPG!) and the recently launched in China, Kia Hatchback - not a Rio, a different model…. (I forget which) Certainly the thinking mans Subaru Impreza!
Ceed, you mean.
No - the Cerato hatchback!
Where did this data come from? Could someone please give me a link to this information?
Ash said he got it from Sina a Chinese site, but I don’t know why the data of may from Sina seems to contradict that of official figure for May I posted above.
OK Ash,
This is what I got from Gasgoo, and Gasgood says they got it from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
China’s top 10 passenger-car makers in June
From:Gasgoo.com July 09, 2008
Shanghai, July 9 (Gasgoo.com) China’s Shanghai VW was the top seller in June with sales of 44,618 vehicles both in domestic and overseas markets, followed by Chery Auto and Shanghai GM, with sales of 37,994 units and 37,921 units respectively, according to a report unveiled by China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
FAW VW saw a remarkable sales drop in June as a result of strategy adjustment. The new appointed general-manager of FAW VW Sales Division Hu Yong announced plans early in June to restrain vehicle supply to dealers so as to reduce excess inventory, which led to a decline in the monthly wholesale volume. Chery experienced a strong sales growth thanks to contribution by overseas market.
A total of 517,469 passenger vehicles (PVs) were sold in China in June, up 13% year on year (y/y), but down 1.3% from May. CPCA attributed the decline to the flooding in many of China’s southern provinces and an oil price hike, but it forecasts the impact brought by these negative factors will be temporary.
No.1 : Shanghai VW
No.2 : Chery
No.3 : Shanghai GM
No.4 : FAW VW
No.5 : Beijing Hyundai
No.6 : Tianjin Toyota.