In the first two months in 2024 , the production and sales of automobiles reached 3.919 million and 4.026 million respectively, with year-on-year growth of 8.1% and 11.1%. Chen Shihua said that due to the low base in the same period last year, the year-on-year growth rate of automobile production and sales in January and February this year remained at about 10%, but the total volume was not particularly high. From January to February, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 1.252 million and 1.207 million respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 28.2% and 29.4%, and a market share of 30%; Among them, the export of new energy vehicles reached 182000 units, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. “Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, the export growth rate of new energy vehicles is slightly lower,” said Chen Shihua. As a comparison, in 2023, China’s new energy vehicle exports reached 1.203 million units, a year-on-year increase of 77.6%.
After a successful start in January, the automotive market experienced a cold spell in February. Yesterday (March 11th), the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released data showing that in February, the production and sales of automobiles reached 1.506 million and 1.584 million, respectively, a decrease of 37.5% and 35.1% month on month, and a decrease of 25.9% and 19.9% year-on-year.
image source : the press conference of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Association, said that in February this year, after a complete Spring Festival holiday, the effective working days were reduced, and the manufacturing industry was in the traditional off-season of production. The production and operation of enterprises were affected to some extent, and the overall market activity declined. Part of the demand for car purchases has been released before the Spring Festival, and overall car production and sales have declined compared to January.
In the first two months, the production and sales of automobiles reached 3.919 million and 4.026 million respectively, with year-on-year growth of 8.1% and 11.1%. “Due to the lower base in the same period last year, the year-on-year growth rate of automobile production and sales in the first two months of this year remained around 10%, but the total amount was not particularly high,” Chen Shihua added.
In terms of passenger cars, the production and sales in February were 1.273 million and 1.333 million respectively, a decrease of 38.9% and 37% month on month, and a decrease of 25.8% and 19.4% year-on-year. Among the main types of passenger cars, SUV sales have shown double-digit growth compared to the same period last year, while sedan sales have slightly increased. MPV and crossover passenger car sales have shown varying degrees of decline.
From January to February, the production and sales of passenger cars reached 3.36 million and 3.451 million respectively, with year-on-year growth of 7.9% and 10.6%. “The passenger car market was greatly affected by the Spring Festival in February, with a significant decline compared to the previous month. The data from the first two months is more informative,” said Chen Shihua.
From a level perspective, the sales of traditional fuel vehicles are still mainly concentrated in A-class, with a cumulative sales volume of 1.343 million units from January to February, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%. On the other hand, for new energy passenger vehicles, except for the A-class which decreased year-on-year, all other levels showed positive growth, with the C-class showing the largest increase.
In the passenger car market, the market share of Chinese brands remains high. In February, a total of 791000 Chinese brand passenger cars were sold, a year-on-year decrease of 9.4%, accounting for 59.4% of the total passenger car sales, an increase of 6.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year; From January to February, a total of 2.066 million vehicles were sold, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%, with a market share of 59.9%.
Among the major foreign brands, compared to the same period last year, sales of Korean brands showed double-digit growth from January to February, while sales of the other four major brands showed varying degrees of decline. “Since last year, the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars has continued to grow rapidly, and this year it has increased on the basis of a high base, which also reflects the pressure faced by joint venture brands,” said Chen Shihua.
From January to February, the total sales volume of the top ten automobile sales groups was 3.395 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%, accounting for 84.3% of the total automobile sales, which is 0.1 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Among them, the top three companies achieved sales of 1.322 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, and a market share of 32.8%.
In terms of automobile exports, the cumulative volume from January to February reached 822000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 30.5%. By vehicle type, the export of passenger cars reached 686000 units, a year-on-year increase of 31.5%; The export of commercial vehicles reached 136000 units, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%. Among the top ten vehicle export companies, BYD exported 60000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 1.1 times; The Great Wall exported 57000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 91.9%; Chang’an exported 98000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 86.8%.
Compared to the overall automotive market, new energy vehicles have performed slightly better. In February, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 464000 and 477000 units respectively, a year-on-year decrease of 16% and 9.2%, with a market share of 30.1%. From January to February, we completed 1.252 million and 1.207 million vehicles respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 28.2% and 29.4%, and a market share of 30%.
From the perspective of driving forms, pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have shown varying degrees of decline in production and sales compared to the previous period; Compared with the same period last year, the production and sales of pure electric vehicles have shown a double-digit decline, while the production and sales of the other two categories of new energy vehicles have shown varying degrees of growth.
It is worth mentioning that compared to traditional fuel vehicles, the export growth rate of new energy vehicles is slightly lower. Data shows that from January to February, the export of new energy vehicles reached 182000 units, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Among them, 148000 pure electric vehicles were exported, a year-on-year decrease of 7.5%; 34000 plug-in hybrid vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 2.7 times. As a comparison, in 2023, China’s new energy vehicle exports reached 1.203 million units, a year-on-year increase of 77.6%.
From January to February, the total sales volume of the top ten enterprise groups in the sales of new energy vehicles was 1.044 million units, a year-on-year increase of 28.8%, accounting for 86.5% of the total sales of new energy vehicles, 0.4 percentage points lower than the same period last year. Among them, the top three companies achieved sales of 578000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%, and a market share of 47.9%.
Turning to the development trend of the future automobile market, Chen Shihua said that automobile is an industry with outstanding economic performance at present and a “ballast stone” for the steady growth of industrial economy. In this year’s government work report, it was clearly stated that we should “consolidate and expand the leading advantages of industries such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles” and “boost bulk consumption of intelligent connected new energy vehicles”. I believe that with the further refinement and implementation of relevant policies in the future, it will help to continuously consolidate and expand the stable and positive development trend of the automotive industry, stimulate enterprise innovation motivation, promote high-quality development of the industry, and help the automotive industry achieve a good start. (China Economic Network reporter Jiang Zhiwen)
Source: China Economic Network
