Cui Dongshu: China imported 640,000 cars from January to November, a year-on-year decrease of 11%.

On December 26, Cui Dongshu, the Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, stated in a post that the import volume of imported cars in China has been steadily decreasing by an average of 8% per year since 2017, reaching only 800,000 units by 2023. Data shows that from January to November 2024, 640,000 cars were imported, a decrease of 11% compared to the same period last year. In November, 60,000 cars were imported, a decrease of 27% compared to the same period last year, but an increase of 38% compared to October. With the rise of domestic cars and the accelerated localization of international brands, the import of cars has been continuously declining in recent years, experiencing negative growth for the past three years. There is significant pressure on the growth of imported cars in November. The top 10 countries with the highest imports in November 2024 were: Japan with 19,265 units, Germany with 17,653 units, the United States with 8,944 units, Slovakia with 6,357 units, the United Kingdom with 3,702 units, Sweden with 1,957 units, Mexico with 927 units, Austria with 416 units, Hungary with 305 units, and Italy with 189 units. The countries with the highest increase in imports from November last year were the United Kingdom with an increase of 468 units, Belgium with an increase of 135 units, Sweden with an increase of 37 units, India with an increase of 25 units, and Vietnam with an increase of 8 units. The decline in imported cars continues to be significant. In November 2024, the highest imports came from Japan with 193,016 units, followed by Germany with 179,331 units, the United States with 99,970 units, Slovakia with 59,783 units, the United Kingdom with 42,356 units, Sweden with 20,533 units, Austria with 10,228 units, Hungary with 7,643 units, Mexico with 6,749 units, and South Korea with 4,523 units. The countries with the largest increase in imports this year were Japan with an increase of 3,029 units, Hungary with an increase of 2,899 units, China with an increase of 2,628 units, Sweden with an increase of 862 units, and Belgium with an increase of 624 units. With the continuous growth of the Chinese automotive industry, the transformation towards electrification is changing the market demand structure, leading to a continued decline in demand for fuel cars and imported fuel cars. Given the increasing complexity of international relations, it is important to establish more complex import models in order to maintain a reasonable scale of imported cars. Key points on the overall trend of imported cars in China: 1. Characteristics of the growth rate of car imports 2. Monthly trends of imported vehicles 3. Characteristics of the structure of imported whole vehicles 4. Characteristics of the structure of imported new energy vehicles 5. Characteristics of the displacement structure of imported whole vehicles Overall, the import of cars in China has been declining steadily over the past few years, with a focus on new energy vehicles and vehicles with smaller displacements.The sales of imported cars with a large displacement of 3 liters have decreased, with a significant drop in the fourth quarter of this year. The proportion of cars with a displacement of 2-2.5 liters has increased significantly, indicating a weak trend towards the high-end market.6-8 months of large displacement vehicles with a capacity of over 4 liters are temporarily on the rise, with a more obvious risk-averse factor due to the import tax. However, demand is weak, and imports of large displacement vehicles are expected to decline from September to November. II. Automobile Import Market Pattern 1. Import characteristics by country The import countries of Chinese passenger cars still mainly include Japan, Germany, and the United States, with recent declines in imports from Slovakia. 2. Monthly trend of whole vehicle imports In November, there was considerable pressure on the growth of imported cars. The top 10 countries with the highest imports in November 2024 were: Japan with 19,265 units, Germany with 17,653 units, the United States with 8,944 units, Slovakia with 6,357 units, the United Kingdom with 3,702 units, Sweden with 1,957 units, Mexico with 927 units, Austria with 416 units, Hungary with 305 units, and Italy with 189 units. The countries with the largest year-on-year increase in November compared to the same month last year are the United Kingdom with an increase of 468 units, Belgium with an increase of 135 units, Sweden with an increase of 37 units, India with an increase of 25 units, and Vietnam with an increase of 8 units. From January to November 2024, the countries with the highest imports were Japan with 193,016 units, Germany with 179,331 units, the United States with 99,970 units, Slovakia with 59,783 units, the United Kingdom with 42,356 units, Sweden with 20,533 units, Austria with 10,228 units, Hungary with 7,643 units, Mexico with 6,749 units, and South Korea with 4,523 units. The countries with the largest increase in imports this year are Japan with an increase of 3,029 units, Hungary with an increase of 2,899 units, China with an increase of 2,628 units, Sweden with an increase of 862 units, and Belgium with an increase of 624 units. 3. Characteristics of the countries importing new energy vehicles as a whole Before 2019, the import volume of new energy vehicles was relatively large, but in 2021, the decline in pure electric vehicles caused by the production of Tesla domestically was significant. In 2021, the decline in pure electric vehicles due to the production of Tesla domestically was significant, but the development of new energy from 2022 to 2023 was good, leading to more companies importing new energy vehicles. The import of new energy vehicles from the major countries in 2024 slowed down significantly, with strong competitiveness of domestically produced vehicles. The trend of importing new energy passenger cars from Italy this year is strong. III. Automobile Market Sales Pattern 1. Overall sales of imported cars Due to the strength of Chinese domestic car companies, the sales of imported cars have been continuously declining, and they are also weaker than the trend of domestic luxury car market. In 2021, the sales of imported cars reached 940,000 units, a decrease of 6% compared to 2020. In 2022, the sales of imported cars were 840,000 units, a significant decrease of 10% compared to 2021, also relatively weaker than the performance of domestic cars. In 2023, sales finally resumed positive growth, reaching 910,000 units, an increase of 8%. From January to November 2024, the compulsory insurance data for imported cars was 720,000 units, a 12% year-on-year decrease. Due to the promotion of a low base, the retail sales of imported cars in January-November this year were generally average, with still significant pressure in the future. The trend of imported car sales has sharply declined, recently reaching a scale of 68,000 units. 2. Characteristics of imported car brands In recent years, the sales of super luxury imported cars have continued to grow, but since 2023, there has been a 12% decline, accelerating in the period from January to November 2024. Bentley has performed very well. The overall trend of Maserati and Rolls Royce has been lackluster, with the overall weakness of super luxury cars reflecting a temporary slowdown in the purchasing power of the ultra-high-end consumer group, but Ferrari and Lamborghini performed well in November. Currently, imported car sales rely mainly on the demand for luxury cars, while non-luxury imported cars have seen a dramatic decline. The proportion of main imported luxury cars among imported cars has grown significantly. Lexus's import retail in 2024 increased by 4%, showing good performance. BMW, Audi, and Land Rover have generally strong performances, while Porsche has shown weaker performance in the recent period. Joint venture brand imported cars have swiftly shrunk, with Toyota, Volkswagen, Subaru, and some brand imported cars experiencing a sharp decline. 3. Characteristics of regional changes in imported super luxury car brands The overall demand for the imported car market is weak, with significant pressure on the markets for imported super luxury cars in traditional affluent areas such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Chengdu. Due to the special business and identity features of super luxury cars, the overall market demand is not excellent. 4. Characteristics of regional changes in luxury car brands Overall, the demand for domestically produced and imported luxury cars is generally weak, with significant market pressure in traditional affluent areas such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Chongqing.