On March 8th, the China Passenger Car Association released the automotive market situation for February. The data indicates that in February, retail sales of passenger vehicles reached 1.095 million units, down 21% year-on-year and down 46.2% month-on-month. Meanwhile, on the wholesale level, passenger car manufacturers across the country wholesaled 1.295 million units in February, marking a 19.9% year-on-year decrease and a 38% month-on-month decrease.
Retail and wholesale sales of passenger vehicles both declined in February.
Indeed, that’s a common occurrence. February marks the Chinese Lunar New Year, during which people in China typically take time off to celebrate. Additionally, February has the fewest days of any month in the year. Let’s take a look at the specific ranking.
Automobile Manufacturers Retail Sales Ranking
From the perspective of manufacturer rankings, February saw two champions. BYD Auto topped the list in retail sales, selling 119,000 units, while Chery Automobile claimed the top spot in wholesale sales with 138,000 units sold.
The second and third places in retail sales were held by Geely Auto and Changan Automobile, with sales of 87,000 units each. FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen ranked fourth and fifth respectively, with sales of 85,000 units and 63,000 units.
The sixth to tenth places in retail sales are respectively held by Chery Automobile (57,000 units), SAIC-GM-Wuling (46,000 units), GAC Toyota (43,000 units), BMW Brilliance (40,000 units), and Dongfeng Nissan (39,000 units).
Automobile Manufacturers Wholesale Sales Ranking
Although ranking only sixth in retail sales, Chery Automobile tops the wholesale sales, surpassing BYD Auto, which ranks second with 122,000 units, and Geely Auto, which ranks third with 111,000 units.
The fourth to tenth ranking car companies are Changan Automobile (84,000 units), FAW-Volkswagen (76,000 units), SAIC Volkswagen (63,000 units), Great Wall Motors (61,000 units), Tesla China (60,000 units), SAIC-GM-Wuling (49,000 units), and BMW Brilliance (42,000 units).
It is worth noting that three car companies with significant differences between retail and wholesale sales are Chery Automobile, Great Wall Motors, and Tesla China. Based on past experience, more than half of the sales of Chery Automobile and Tesla China are exported to overseas markets.
Although overall sales declined in February, exports continued to grow. The data shows that in February, exports of passenger vehicles (including complete vehicles and CKD) reached 298,000 units, an increase of 18% year-on-year but a decrease of 17% month-on-month.
The China Passenger Car Association predicts that due to various industries quickly returning to normal operations after the Chinese New Year holiday, March is expected to see a rapid month-on-month growth in production and sales.
