Market Watch: Auto Market in April or Welcome Turning Point

According to statistics from the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, domestic passenger cars (including cars, MPVs, SUVs, and micro-buses) produced 1.152 million units in April, a decrease of 15.8% from the previous month's output of 1.369 million units. There was a slight increase of 1.3%. Different models, whether cars, SUVs, or MPV production, experienced a two-digit decline from the previous month in March. Among them, the MPV fell by a maximum of 18.4% month-on-month. However, the year-on-year increase was still the same as last year except for microbuses and MPV products. . What is more noteworthy is that the sales volume has also experienced a significant decline. In April, the sales volume of passenger vehicles was 1.077 million units, a slight increase of 1.3% year-on-year, but it was down 13.1% from the previous quarter. Among them, the sales of 744,189 vehicles led to the passenger vehicle still occupying the top spot for sales of passenger cars, but the sales volume in the chain fell by 10.3% in March. The ring sales of MPV models fell the most, falling by 12.1% to 38,166 units. The decline in micro-off is also evident, with a year-on-year decline of 11.5%.

According to the performance of the manufacturers, the top three sales rankings are still Shanghai GM, Shanghai Volkswagen, and FAW-Volkswagen. Among the top-selling car companies, only Shanghai Volkswagen and Beijing Hyundai maintained positive growth in single digits. Among them, Beijing Hyundai, led by the new Sonata, soon after its listing, the overall sales maintained a growth rate of more than 7% in a slump, reaching 63,889 units. It was a bright spot in the depressed automobile market. The Shanghai Volkswagen models remained stable, with total sales of 100,079 units in April, a slight increase of 6.73%, ranking the top of the April sales list. Also noteworthy is that major Japanese brands including Dongfeng Nissan, FAW Toyota, GAC Toyota, GAC Honda, and Dongfeng Honda have all experienced sharp declines in sales in April. Among them, FAW Toyota fell the most, falling by as much as 40%. The decline is between 20% and 30%. The poor performance of the Japanese cars is obviously related to the earthquake in Japan. In fact, the shortage of spare parts also affects the American car companies. It is estimated that the situation in May and June will obviously improve.

Under the background of the rapid growth of the Chinese auto market in the past two years, this year was originally considered by the industry as a year of slower growth rate, but the apparent decline in April still caused many industry insiders to worry because such a severe situation emerged in the first half of the year. This may worsen the situation in the second half of the year. Many people in the industry further pointed out that in the depressed state of the auto market, the competition among domestic auto makers will become increasingly fierce, and the integration of superior and inferior players will quickly emerge. The relatively weak independent brands will face severe challenges. Some people even pointed out that domestic automakers should start to control the expansion of production capacity to avoid serious waste of production capacity.

However, there are also some new issues worth considering for the auto market. For example, people's sensitivity to vehicle prices is declining. The sales of luxury cars have not even been particularly affected. This aspect shows that the focus of the Chinese auto market is still located in large cities where high-income people are concentrated. On the other hand, China's auto consumers have already shown signs of rapid maturation. In the future, the price war may be more and more difficult to play a decisive role in winning. Only on the basis of improving quality can it really enhance its competitiveness. The emergence of such a pattern also means that consumers are promoting the car companies to improve their quality. The future of the Chinese auto market is here.