Gasgoo.com (Shanghai July 26) - As growth in the Chinese automobile market slows down, sales growth rates for imported vehicles have also begun to decrease. According to a report appearing in the National Business Daily today, the data statistics collection body of the China Automobile Trading released a new study regarding the performance of automobile imports in the country this year. According to the study, the amount of automobiles imported by China fell over ten percent over the first half of this year.
According to the recently released CATC study, Chinese automobiles imports for the first six months of the year totaled 526,000 units. The number is 10.7 percent less than the 589,000 vehicles imported in the first half of 2012.
Imports of the country's top ten imported brands, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Land Rover, fell 19.9 percent from 2012 to 2013. Imports of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audis for the six month period totaled 84,000 units, 53,000 units and 45,000 units. Those figures represent negative year-on-year growth of 17.6 percent, 22.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. Wang Cun, senior head of marketing for Sinomach Automobile, attributed the decline in certain imported brands to the current state of the Chinese economy.
Despite the lackluster state of the import automobile segment, imports of American brands have actually been on the rise this year. According to the CATC study, US manufacturers' combined share of the Chinese import automobile market rose 4.3 percent from the first half of 2012 to the first half of this year. Mr. Wang attributed the growth US manufacturers' have experienced to increasing consumer demand in the country. Jeeps imported by China grew 19.4 percent over the six month time period, with Chrysler and Dodge imports also increasing.
At the same time, dealership inventories of imported automobiles reached a new high this year. Under increasing pressure to make sales, dealerships may begin introducing new promotional offers to be more competitive.
