Cui Dongshu: The retail performance of the passenger vehicle market in August was relatively good, with manufacturers showing significant reductions in inventory.

Secretary-General Cui Dongshu of the Passenger Car Branch released the trends of passenger car models in the detailed market in August. With the market prices decreasing and promotional efforts increasing from February to April, consumers waited for a period of time before gradually releasing their buying enthusiasm. With the push of the national scrappage and renewal subsidy policy, the retail performance of passenger cars in August 2024 was good. Manufacturer sales in August were relatively conservative, showing a significant characteristic of inventory reduction. In August 2024, SUV retail sales increased by 1%, outperforming the industry by 2 points. Due to the trend of consumer upgrades leading to an increase in SUV demand, sedan retail sales decreased by 3% year-on-year, weaker than the industry by 2 points, but sedan demand improved significantly compared to the previous months. MPV retail sales decreased by 6% year-on-year, significantly weaker than the industry by 5 points. Sedan performance was lower than SUVs, mainly due to poor performance of A0-class new energy sedans, but the recent recovery of A00-class sedans has significantly improved sedan demand. From a structural perspective, low-end consumption is weak, while high-end consumption is strong. The performance of B-segment sedans in the sedan market is good; while SUVs are strong in the high-end segment, with B and C-segment SUVs performing better year-on-year. I. Trend of Economy-class Passenger Car Market 1. Performance of A00-class sedans In August 2024, wholesale of A00-class sedans reached 96,500 units, accounting for a wholesale share of 11.21%, with a year-on-year increase of 29% and a month-on-month increase of 19%. Retail in August 2024 increased by 32% year-on-year and 44% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, wholesale quantity was 622,100 units, with a cumulative increase in wholesale sales by manufacturers of 45%; domestic retail quantity was 643,300 units, with a cumulative increase in retail of 30%. The A00-class market has returned to the competitive landscape from 20 years ago, with brands such as Xiali, Chery, Geely, Changan, and BYD having good A00-class products. Recently, diversified mainstream models and new products from BYD, Geely, Changan, and Chery have performed well, demonstrating the incremental potential of micro electric vehicles. 2. Trend of main A0-class sedan models In August 2024, wholesale of A0-class sedans reached 75,200 units, accounting for a wholesale share of 8.74%, with a year-on-year decrease of 39% and a month-on-month increase of 20%. Retail in August 2024 decreased by 11% year-on-year and increased by 32% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, wholesale quantity was 545,800 units, with a cumulative decrease in wholesale sales by manufacturers of 30%; domestic retail quantity was 363,700 units, with a cumulative decrease in retail of 31%. The characteristic of domestic electric vehicles replacing fuel vehicles is obvious, shifting from a pattern dominated by joint ventures to a new trend where domestic brands play a leading role. Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda maintained a strong position earlier, but in recent years, the trend of domestic fuel-powered entry-level cars has been relatively challenging. The trend towards comprehensive electrification of A0-class sedans is evident, with hardly any strong fuel-powered products, reflecting the clear advantage of domestic pure electric products. 3. Sales trend of A0-class SUVs In August 2024, wholesale of A0-class SUVs reached 167,000 units, accounting for a wholesale share of 13.86%, with a year-on-year decrease of 9% and a month-on-month increase of 4%. Retail in August 2024 decreased by 13% year-on-year and increased by 8% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, wholesale quantity was 1.3027 million units, with a cumulative decrease in wholesale sales by manufacturers of 9%; domestic retail quantity was 796,000 units, with a cumulative decrease in retail of 13%. The mainstream small SUVs from Japan and Korea have basically exited the market, while domestic electric vehicles have shown strong performance. II. Trend of A-level passenger car market 1. Trend of main compact sedan models In August 2024, wholesale of A-level sedans reached 362,100 units, accounting for a wholesale share of 42.06%, with a year-on-year decrease of 20% and a month-on-month increase of 11%. Retail in August 2024 decreased by 13% year-on-year and increased by 11% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, wholesale quantity was 2.8062 million units, with a cumulative decrease in wholesale sales by manufacturers of 13%; domestic retail quantity was 2.6732 million units, with a cumulative decrease in retail of 11%. New energy vehicles dominate the mainstream sedan market, with BYD taking the lead, while fuel-powered vehicles from Volkswagen still have a certain market space, and fuel cars remain the most practical for mainstream household use. 2. Trend of main compact SUV models In August 2024, wholesale of A-level SUVs reached 626,300 units, accounting for a wholesale share of 51.95%, with a year-on-year decrease of 2% and a month-on-month increase of 16%. Retail in August 2024 decreased by 5% year-on-year and increased by 15% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, wholesale quantity was 4.5766 million units, with a cumulative increase in wholesale sales by manufacturers of 9%; domestic retail quantity was 3.4569 million units, with a cumulative increase in retail of 3%. The mainstream SUV market has rapidly changed, with BYD and Chery's SUVs performing exceptionally well, achieving comprehensive breakthroughs in domestic and international markets. III. Trend of B-level passenger car market 1. Trend of B-level sedan market In August 2024, wholesale of B-level sedans reached 279,800 units, accounting for a wholesale share of 32.49%, with a year-on-year increase of 7% and no change in wholesale compared to the previous month. Retail in August 2024 increased by 6% year-on-year and 4% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, wholesale quantity was 2.1762 million units, with a cumulative increase in wholesale sales by manufacturers of 14%; domestic retail quantity was 1.9629 million units, with a cumulative increase in retail of 11%. The market share of Japanese high-end sedans is rapidly shrinking, while high-end domestic new energy vehicles are rising fast, especially in the high-end market for rental online cars. 2. Trend of B-level SUV market In August 2024, wholesale of B-level SUVs reached 371,500 units, accounting for a wholesale share of 30.82%, with a year-on-year decrease of 2% and a month-on-month increase of 16%. Retail in August 2024 decreased by 5% year-on-year and increased by 15% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, wholesale quantity was 1.3027 million units, with a cumulative decrease in wholesale sales by manufacturers of 9%; domestic retail quantity was 796,000 units, with a cumulative decrease in retail of 13%. The mainstream SUV market landscape is changing rapidly, with strong performances from BYD and Chery in SUVs, achieving a comprehensive breakthrough in domestic and international markets.Wholesale market share is 30.82%, with wholesale sales increasing by 21% compared to the same period last year, and a 7% increase from last month. Retail sales in August 2024 increased by 19% compared to the same period last year, and by 4% from last month. Wholesale sales totaled 2.4859 million units from January to August 2024, with a cumulative increase of 27% in manufacturer wholesale sales. Domestic retail sales totaled 2.1902 million units from January to August 2024, with a cumulative increase of 26% in retail sales from January to August 2024.The independent new energy vehicles in the high-end SUV market are rapidly rising, weakening the high-end advantages of traditional fuel vehicles. Recently, high-end brands such as BMW have temporarily slowed down. 3. Market trend of B-class and above MPVs In August 2024, the wholesale volume of B-class MPVs reached 54,500 units, accounting for 66.23% of the wholesale market share, with a year-on-year increase of 4% compared to the same period last year, and a month-on-month increase of 7% compared to the previous month. In August 2024, the retail volume increased by 3% year-on-year, and increased by 8% month-on-month. From January to August 2024, the wholesale volume reached 378,000 units, with a cumulative increase of 1% in manufacturer's wholesale sales; the domestic retail volume from January to August 2024 reached 368,200 units, with a cumulative increase of 0% in retail sales. The high-growth phase of the MPV market has shifted to a low-growth trend. The performance of Tencent and GAC's MPVC is strong, while the advantage of Japanese MPVs is rapidly declining, and the GL8 is also in an adjustment period.