SAIC Motor records 2020’s first-time single-month sales of over 500,000 units in Aug.

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- SAIC Motor saw its August new vehicles sales climbed 3.57% year on year to 504,236 units, topping 500,000 units for the first time so far this year, according to the automaker's sales report.

With 3,010,910 vehicles sold in total, SAIC Motor posted 22.08% decrease in the year-to-date sales, 3.69 percentage points fewer than the decline in Jan.-Jul. sales. The contracted drop should owe to the consecutive growth from June to August.

Neither SAIC Volkswagen (SAIC VW) nor SAIC-GM achieved growth in August, but both of them recorded smaller decrease in year-to-date sales. With 856,385 and 798,235 vehicles sold in Jan.-Aug. period, SAIC VW and SAIC-GM logged 29.53% and 26.05% year-on-year decline respectively, versus the 33.15% and 29.26% plunge they recorded for the first seven months.

The contracted decrease partly resulted from the sales promotion activities like the May 5th Shopping Festival and the roll-out of heavyweight new products.

(Cadillac CT4, photo source: Cadillac)

Three brands of SAIC-GM has all put new vehicle models onto the market so far this year, including the Cadillac CT4, the Buick all-new GL8, the Envision S, and the Chevrolet's first full-sized SUV, the Blazer.

Notably, the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu XL hit the market on August 27, replacing the old 1.3-liter three-cylinder engine with SAIC-GM's 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder turbocharged engine. The evident change portends that the three-cylinder strategy it vigorously pushed ahead with failed to be accepted by the general public.

(Viloran,  photo source: SAIC VW)

Positioned as a large-sized luxury MPV, the Viloran must be the most prominent model launched by SAIC VW. In the remaining days of the year, the Sino-German joint venture will roll out the Tiguan X, the mid-cycle refresh of the Phideon and the first ID. series model.

SAIC Motor PV's August sales edged down 1.21% over a year earlier to 50,426 units. The decrease in its year-to-date sales stood at 17.32%, 2.26 percentage points fewer than its Jan.-Jul. drop.

(Roewe RX5 PLUS, photo source: Roewe)

An analyst at Gasgoo Auto Research Institute said the slower downturn in SAIC Motor PV's sales should be thanks to the blooming sale of the Roewe RX5 PLUS and the third-generation MG6, As of August, the sales of the Roewe RX5 PLUS exceeded 36,000 units since it went on sale on June 10, according to a posting on Roewe's WeChat account. The third-generation MG 6 is growing into a major contributor to MG's sales growth.

SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) was honored the champion among SAIC Motor's subsidiaries by selling 148,000 vehicles in August (+16.54% YoY). By the end of August, it has achieved double-digit year-over-year increase for the fifth month in a row.

(New Baojun RM-5, photo source: New Baojun)

Some industry insiders viewed that the fast recovery of SGMW stemmed from the combined efforts of both Wuling and New Baojun brands. The sales of New Baojun's vehicles have registered a stable performance as they have been recognized by increasingly more consumers due to the products’ upgrades and intelligence quality.

As for Wuling, the first vehicle model bearing the Wuling global silver logo has rolled off the production line, which is expected to further drive the brand's sales in the future.