Summary: State of the Chinese sedan market in June 2017

Sedan sales in China continued to contract in the month of June, albeit the decrease was less than that of the previous month. According to statistics reported on by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), sedan sales in June totaled 880,727 units, down 4.2% year-on-year. Sedan sales accounted for 49.2% of all passenger automobiles sold in the country, down 3.8 percentage points from the previous year.

Despite Japanese brand sedan sales having increased 10.7% from the previous year, as a whole June was a poor month for sedan sales. German brand sedans, which led continued to dominate the market with 290,798 total sales and made up a third of all sedans sold over the course of the month, saw their sales decline 3.1% year-on-year. Japanese brands came in second, with their sales totaling 220,273 units. Far behind were domestic own brand and American sedans, with respective monthly sales volumes of 159,929 units and 149,584 units. Own brand sedan sales decreased 5.2% year-on-year, while American brand sales grew a very slight 1.0% year-on-year. Korean and French sedan sales performances were especially dismal, with their sales volumes decreasing 58.2% and 57.9% year-on-year.

A-class sedans’ share of the overall sedan market grew 62.6% in June, although their actual combined sales fell 12.4%. A total of 551,519 units were sold over the course of the month, which despite being less than less June’s total, was still 8.4% higher than the amount sold in May. The A0-class segment performed well, with a total 106,119 units sold, growing slightly from the previous year. The B-class and C-class segments also continued to expand, with growth rates of 19.9% and 21.2%, respectively. However, their respective monthly sales volumes of 163,998 units and 40,876 units were less than figures from the previous month.

FAW Volkswagen was the top seller of sedans in June. It was followed by Shanghai VW, Shanghai GM, Dongfeng Nissan, FAW Toyota, Geely, Changan Ford, Guangqi Honda, Guangqi Toyota and Dongfeng Honda. 

The top five this month were the same as before, with the big three of FAW-VW, Shanghai VW and Shanghai GM continuing to lead the market. FAW-VW’s sales totaled 128,942 units, representing slight year-on-year growth of 3.8%, which was an improvement from the negative growth rate from the previous month. Just behind was Shanghai VW, whose sedan sales totaled 123,484 units, down a slight 1.0% year-on-year. Shanghai GM’s sedan sales also broke the 100,000 mark, however its monthly sales volume of 106,930 units was 3.1% down from last year.

Beijing Hyundai was forced out of the top 10, while Guangqi Toyota reentered the charts with total monthly sales of 31,381 units, growing 17.3% from the previous year.

The only own brand manufacturer to make the top 10 was Geely. The Zhejiang-based manufacturer’s sales totaled 47,376 units, representing year-on-year growth of 16.4%.

Worth mentioning is the 11.0% drop in Dongfeng Nissan’s sedan sales. All of Dongfeng Nissan’s economy and entry models, including those of its Venucia own brand, saw their sales fall in June.

Shanghai GM’s Buick New Excelle was the best-selling model of June, as well as the month’s best-selling passenger automobile overall; its monthly sales totaled 35,766 units, representing positive year-on-year growth of 15.5%. It was followed by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy, VW Lavida, Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta, Ford Focus, VW Lamando, Honda Civic and VW Magotan.

The difference between the second to fourth best-selling sedan models was small, with the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy leading the charts. The sedan’s sales totaled 33,110 units, down 1.1% year-on-year. Behind that was the VW Lavida, whose monthly sales totaled 32,871 units, falling 13.2% year-on-year. After that was the Toyota Corolla, whose sales grew 18.8% year-on-year, totaling 32,381 units. 

No own brands ranked in the top 10 this month, with the model coming closest being the Geely Emgrand EC7, whose sales totaled 15,762 units.

Meanwhile, only one B-class sedan, the VW Magotan made the list.