Auto Sales Drop in China in October

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October has been a poor month for the Chinese auto industry as a whole, leading the down turn are of course commercial vehicle sales. In year on year sales the Chinese market dropped 1.1% from a year earlier to 1.52 million units sold according to statistics from CAAM.

Commercial Vehicle Sales fell by 9.9% in year on  year sales, whilst passenger car sales increased by a wafer thin 1.4%. Total sales for the year to date are expected to be around 15 million units, far away from the original goal of 20 million units that was expected for the industry this year. When comparing month to month sales, October was down some 7.5% over September sales, August and September are usually strong months for car sales but as the autumn warmth dies so does the car buying spirit, November sales are usually quite low, December sales in recent years have been strong due to the governments change of automotive policies that have suddenly and without warning come into affect on January 1st every year. This year saw the cancellation of the preferential sales tax on small displacement vehicles that saw tax reduced to 5% from 10% in 2009, then increased again to 7.5% in 2010 and then returning to the original 10% for 2011.

CAAM has since changed its original highly optimistic forecasted growth rate of 10-15% to a mere 5% for 2011, November’s sales are likely to follow the low growth but there is potential for a December rebound if consumer want to buy a new car for the New Year celebrations.

Best Selling Manufacturers in Oct 2011

1. Shanghai-GM – 98878
2. FAW-VW – 87846
3. Shanghai-VW – 83660
4. Dongfeng-Nissan – 58208
5. Beijing-Hyundai – 47985
6. Chery – 44237
7. Geely – 40006
8. Chang’an-Ford – 35752
9. FAW-Toyota – 35234

Bottom selling Car Companies

1. Beijing-Benz – 6117
2. Changhe – 5981
3. Youngman Lotus – 4308
4. Dongfeng-Honda – 3934
5. Zotye – 3705
6. Dongfeng Own Brand – 2892
7. Guangzhou Auto Own Brand – 1439
8. Zhengzhou Haima- 1020
9. Hafei – 473
10. Hawtai – 45

Note – Hawtai sales refer to sedan sales rather than SUV range which sold around 800 units in Oct.