Chinese automobile sales in 2013 predicted to exceed 20m units

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai January 15) - The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers recently conducted a survey of top industry figures to see what predictions they have for the country's automobile market this year. According to the results of the survey, which was cited in a Beijing Business Today report appearing today, total market demands is expected to reach 20.8 million vehicles in 2013, around seven percent higher than the 19.31 million automobiles sold last year.

The CADA survey predicts total passenger automobile sales this year to be around 16.8 million units. Passenger automobiles sales are expected to increase approximately 8.5 percent in 2013. Although sedan sales look to be similar to last year's, total sales of SUVs are predicted to grow 23 percent to 2.46 million units. The introduction of several SUV models from various manufacturers is a sign of the segment's increasing importance in the passenger automobile market. The releases of the new Beijing Hyundai Santa Fe, Dongfeng Peugeot 3008 and new Shanghai GM Buick Enclave are among the new SUV models on the horizon.

It is a common view among industry experts that automobile sales this year will maintain the slow but steady growth rates from 2011 and 2012. These growth rates, albeit far less than figures from 2010 and earlier, are actually sustainable in the long-term. China Automobile Dealers Association Deputy Secretary General Shen Rong went a step further, saying that these slight growth rates are a sign that the Chinese automobile market is finally reaching a mature stage. Mr. Shen believes that the sequence of a few years of rapid growth followed by a long period of slow but steady growth is not unique to China, but is the normal procedure automobile markets around the world follow.

Mr. Shen points to the growing market for second-hand vehicles in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai as further proof of the market's maturity. CADA statistics reveal that 60 percent of new car sales in 2012 came from consumers who traded in their used vehicles for a discount, over four times the amount recorded from the previous year. According to Su Hui, an automobile resource expert, trading in used vehicles when purchasing a new car has already become one of the major methods for dealerships to attract buyers. It is further promoted by policies limiting new car registrations, which are becoming commonplace in major Chinese cities.

Cumulative Chinese automobiles sales and production amounts for 2012 totaled 19.31 million units and 19.27 million units, respectively. The two figures represent respective year-on-year growth rates of 4.33 percent and 4.63 percent.