China sells 23,500 buses in Q1, down 33% y/y

Shanghai, May 5 (Gasgoo.com) In the first quarter this year, China's bus sales fell 36.38% year on year to 23,500 units, even as car sales increased 3.88% during that period, China Quality daily reported today.

China sold 9,265, 4,965 and 9,270 buses (and coaches) in January, February and March respectively, totaling 23,500 units, down from 35,730 units sold in the first three months of 2008. Some experts say that the sluggish market demand and lack of government support are the two major reasons for the sales drop in the first quarter.

All bus manufacturers in China have suffered from the economic recession and market downturn. The top four sellers -- Zhengzhou Yutong, Suzhou Higer, Xiamen Kinglong and Golden Dragon -- have seen their business shrink by more than one third. However, new energy buses saw sales grow by 66.14% y/y to 1,796 units in the first quarter.

An industry insider recently said that as his company's orders are still on a decline, he feels the worst scenario is yet to come. An expert has also indicated that the bus market will likely continue worsening and the industry may fall back to the 2006 level. He expects the market to decline by up to 10% for the whole year. 

Besides the low demand in the domestic market, some emerging markets such as Russia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East also saw a sharp decline in bus demand during the first quarter, which affected the export by many Chinese bus makers.

In contrast to the plunge in bus sales, China's car sales in the first quarter grew by 3.88% from a year earlier.