2017 China sales of multinational automakers

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- At the beginning of 2018, many multinational automakers have released their annual sales in China last year. According to the official reports from corresponding automakers, Volkswagen Group (VW) and General Motors (GM) all delivered over 4 million vehicles in Chinese market . Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, gathering the strength from three companies, was far behind VW and GM by China sales. Apart from Hyundai-Kia Group  and Group PSA who suffered a substantial sales decrease in China, most of  automakers achieved a sales growth with different degrees in the past year. 

Volkswagen Group

According to Volkswagen Group China (VW China), the group, along with its two joint ventures, SAIC Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, delivered nearly 4.18 million vehicles (including around 189,000 imported vehicles) to the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong last year, increasing 5.1% year on year. 

As to brands, around 3.18 million vehicles under Volkswagen brand were delivered in 2017, with a year-on-year growth of 5.9%. Audi brand's annual sales saw a year-on-year increase of 1.1% to nearly 597,900 units. Especially, the December sales of Audi brand reached a record high of around 69,200 units, jumping 34.3% from a year earlier. 

The brand of Skoda delivered 325,000 units throughout 2017, rising 2.5% year on year. In December, Skoda sales reached a record high of some 42,400 units, leaping 41.8% from the previous year.

General Motors

General Motors and its joint ventures sold a total of 4,040,789 vehicles in China in 2017, up 4.4% year on year. China was GM's largest retail market for the sixth year in a row. The company benefited from record domestic sales by the Cadillac, Buick and Baojun brands.

Buick, GM's best-selling brand in China, launched 7 models in China last year, including the GL6 MPV and Excelle GX wagon. The new product mix contributed a lot to the brand's outstanding annual sales.Cadillac had achieved double-digit sales growth for 22 consecutive months. 

Baojun sales in 2017 jumped 45% to 996,629 units. Its strong momentum was led by the 510 small SUV, which was launched in February, 2017 and became the brand's best-selling model last year. 

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance (herein after as Alliance) reported that its member companies sold a combined total of 1,719,815 vehicles in China throughout 2017, increasing 6.2% year on year. China was once again the Alliance's largest market by sales.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation sold 129,160 vehicles in China last year, jumped 56% from 2016. Thanks to strong demand for the locally produced Outlander, China became Mitsubishi Motors' largest market. 

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd achieved a year-on-year sales growth of 12.2% to 1,519,714 units in China, ranking second among Nissan's markets worldwide by annual sales, behind U.S. with a slight sales difference. Infiniti, Nissan's luxury vehicle brand, delivered 48,408 units in China with a year-on-year sales growth of 16.4%.

Although China was not on the top 10 list by sales of Groupe Renault, Renault delivered over 72,100 vehicles in China last year compared with 35,278 in 2016, thus doubling sales volumes in the space of one year. 

Honda

The annual sales in China of Honda-branded vehicles and the self-owned brands of Honda's joint ventures (GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda) totaled 1,441,307 units last year, up 15.5% from a year earlier. GAC Honda posted a year-on-year sales growth of 9.6% to 714,282 units and Dongfeng Honda reached an annual sales volume of 727,025 units, surging 22% compared with 2016. Both the joint ventures hit a record high in annual sales last year.

Acura, the luxury vehicle marque of Honda, delivered 16,348 vehicles in China throughout 2017, skyrocketing 100.8% year on year.

Toyota

Toyota Motor's sales in China totaled around 1.29 million vehicles, increasing 6.3% from the previous year. As regard to the sales performance of its two joint ventures, FAW-Toyota posted a year-on-year sales increase of 7.2% to around 706,100 units and the annual sales of GAC Toyota surpassed 440,000 units, edging up 0.7% year on year.

Lexus, Toyota Motor's luxury vehicle brand, boasted a year-on-year sales growth of 22% with 132,864 vehicles sold in China throughout 2017. Leading sales for the lineup was the ES sedan, followed by the NX & RX crossovers.

Ford

Ford Motor Company (Ford) sales in China totaled nearly 1.2 million vehicles in 2017, decreasing 6% from a year earlier. 

Annual sales for Changan Ford Automobile (CAF) totaled around 827,000 vehicles, down 14% year over year. In addition, Jiangling Motor Corporation (JMC) sold some 293,000 vehicles in 2017, with a sales increase of 11% compared with 2016.

More than 54,000 vehicles under Lincoln brand were delivered in China last year, surging 66% year on year, which set a new record of annual sales in China.

Hyundai-Kia Group

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, South Korea's largest automobile manufacturer, faced a sales plunge in China last year due to political tensions and a lack of new models.

According to the sales figure released by its two joint ventures, Beijing Hyundai saw its sales fallout of 28% year on year to nearly 820,000 vehicles last year, while Dongfeng Yueda Kia's sales slumped 45% from 2016 to 359,500 units, only completing 89.9% of its sales target.

BMW Group

BMW and MINI sales in Mainland China, the automaker's largest market, boasted a total annual sales volume of 594,388 units in 2017 with a year-on-year sales growth of 15.1%.

Last year, BMW 7 Series saw a robust sales growth of 45.3% compared with 2016. Meanwhile, around 143,000 units of BMW 3 Series were delivered in 2017, leaping 24.3% year on year. 

Daimler AG

Daimler AG reported that Mercedes-Benz (including Smart brand), delivered a total of 610,965 units in China in 2017, soaring 25% year on year. This is also the first time for Mercedes-Benz achieving annual sales of over 600,000 units in a single market worldwide.

Mercedes-Benz brand handed over 587,868 units in China, jumping 25.9% from 2016. Although the annual sales of Smart brand suffered a year-on-year decrease of 6.5% worldwide last year, in China, this brand boasted a sales growth of 9.8% from a year earlier to 23, 097 units.

Groupe PSA

French automobile company Groupe PSA (PSA) suffered from a 37.4% year-on-year drop in auto sales in China and Southeast Asia. This unpleasant statistics may largely results from the vague product position and the unreasonable production capacity planning.

As to the French automaker's two joint ventures in China, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Company Ltd (DPCA)  only sold around 378,000 vehicles in 2017, slumping 37.2% from the previous year and falling by nearly half compared with 705,000 units in 2015. The luxury vehicle brand DS, locally produced by Changan PSA Automobiles Co., Ltd (CAPSA), suffered a steep sales drop of 64% year on year to some 5,800 units in China in the past year. The brand also experienced a sales decrease for the second consecutive year.

Mazda

In 2017, Mazda sold 309,407 vehicles (excluding imported vehicles) into China's auto market, increasing 8.3% from 2016. It not only remarkably exceeded its initial annual target of 290,000 units, but also surpassed the annual sales volume of 300,000 units for the first time.

As regard to the sales performance of Mazda's joint ventures in China, Changan Mazda's 2017 sales exceeded 180,000 units and FAW-Mazda sold around 124,000 units last year, up 35.7% year on year.

FCA Group

GAC FCA, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.'s (FCA Group) only joint venture in China, delivered a total of 222,332 vehicles last year, jumping 23.6% year on year. Meanwhile, the company had achieved a sales increase for 25 consecutive months since December 2015.

Three locally-produced models under Jeep brand, Renegade, Cherokee and Compass, had annual sales exceeding 200,000 units in total last year, shooting up by 57% compared with 2016. These three SUV models were main forces driving the company's substantial sales growth.

Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) delivered a record high of 146,399 vehicles in China in the past year, up 23% from the previous year. The automaker's China sales accounted for nearly 25% of its total sales worldwide which made China become the company's largest market.

In 2017, Jaguar sold 42,660 units in China, surging 74% year on year, hitting a record high in annual sales. Land Rover annual sales reached 103,739 units, exceeding 100,000 units for the first time.

Volvo Cars

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, sold a total of 114,410 units in China last year, jumping 25.8% year on year. The record performance in China, Volvo's largest market, contributed a lot to the group's sales increase in Asia Pacific region with 152,668 vehicles delivered there in 2017.