Gasgoo.com (Shanghai November 13) - Changan Automobile sold a total of 148,900 vehicles in October, Caijing reported today, citing the Chongqing-based manufacturer's recently released monthly performance review. The figure represents year-on-year sales growth of 27.76 percent for Changan, only slightly below the 32 percent sales increase it reported in August. The manufacturer produced a total of 150,700 vehicles over the course of the month, growing 9.84 percent.
Changan has manufactured and sold 1.38 million and 1.39 vehicles from January to August, respectively.
The manufacturer owes a lot of its strong performance to increasing sales of its own brand models. Chongqing Changan sold a total of 53,700 vehicles over the month, while Hebei Changan Bus sold 11,200 vehicles. The figures represent year-on-year growth of 57 percent and 38.3 percent, respectively. By comparison, sales of its joint ventures were weak, with Changan Ford Mazda and Changan Suzuki's sales falling 21.79 percent and 32.67 percent, respectively.
Compared with rivals SAIC, FAW and Dongfeng, Changan's JVs have been performing relatively poor this year. However, Changan Board Chairman Xu Liuping was quick to defend the manufacturer's foreign partners, saying that the manufacturer is working closely with them to make new advancements.
Changan's stock price increased 0.18 percent last Friday, finishing at 5.47 yuan ($0.872).
