Car sales are expected to grow by 3% in 2023

The commercial vehicle sector is among the best performing sectors, according to the major industry association

After achieving high single-digit growth during the first eight months, 2023 auto sales in China are expected to rise at least 3 percent year-on-year, according to the country’s largest industry association.

Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said at the association’s monthly media conference last week that the market is doing “a great job” and the commercial vehicle sector is rebounding.

“Our full-year sales are expected to see a 3 percent year-on-year increase, or even better,” Xu said, adding that CAAM data shows August sales rose 8.4 percent year-on-year to 2.58 million units. Both sales and production reversed the declines witnessed during the month of July with the activation of government policies supporting consumption.

From January to August, nationwide automobile production and sales rose by 7.4 percent and 8 percent respectively, generally on par with the growth observed in the first seven months.

China aims to raise car sales this year to about 27 million units, representing a 3 percent increase over the 2022 level, according to an action plan unveiled earlier this month by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other government departments. .

For new energy vehicles, the country is targeting annual sales of about 9 million units, or a 30 percent increase year-on-year. The plan recommends that all existing supportive policies for the sales and use of new energy vehicles should remain in place, and no further restrictions should be placed on the purchase of gasoline-powered vehicles.

In August, Geely Auto sold 152,626 vehicles, recording a monthly increase of 10 percent and a year-on-year jump of 24 percent. It is worth noting that the company’s new energy vehicle sector contributed significantly to these numbers, as 47,299 units were sold, representing about a third of the total.

Great Wall Motor, China’s largest maker of SUVs and pickup trucks, sold 114,100 vehicles last month – up 29.32 percent year-on-year – and its five brands, including Haval and Way, saw an increase in deliveries.

Haval accounted for the lion’s share of sales in August with 66,523 units, up 31.99 percent year-on-year, while Great Wall Motors’ January-August sales totaled 742,400 units, up 4.76 percent year-on-year.

Tesla sold 64,694 cars in China in August, while deliveries of the Chinese-made Model Y reached 65,316 cars last month, topping the list of passenger car models available in the local market, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

BYD, China’s largest new energy vehicle maker, saw its August sales reach a record 274,386 units, according to an announcement from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

This represents a 56.87 percent increase year-on-year and a 4.66 percent increase from July. BYD stopped producing all-internal combustion engine vehicles in March last year in order to focus on hybrids and pure electric vehicles.

At the same time, Chinese automakers are gaining a larger share of overseas markets, especially in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

According to the Israel Automotive Importers Association, Chinese brands topped electric vehicle sales in the country in the first eight months of 2023, led by BYD. With 12,168 units sold – mainly the Atto 3 subcompact SUV – BYD rose one place to fourth place in the overall rankings for car sales in Israel, which includes gasoline and electric cars.

Geely sold a total of 5,581 Geometry C crossovers in the same period, ranking second in electric vehicle sales in Israel. Tesla ranked third with 4,948 electric cars sold, followed by South Korean Hyundai with 3,879 cars.

Along with Israel, Thailand is emerging as an important market for Chinese automakers, including BYD, GWM and Aion.

Great Wall Motors saw its overseas sales reach a record high last month, with 30,741 vehicles purchased outside China – an increase of 99.95 percent year-on-year. August was the sixth consecutive month in which GWM’s overseas sales exceeded 20,000 units, while its overseas sales from January to August totaled 181,678 units, up 95.55 percent year-on-year.

In the action plan issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese automakers were encouraged to develop and produce products for the international market and increased efforts to explore markets in Belt and Road countries and emerging economies.