Revealed: Sept. sales in premium automakers’ China market

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese auto market faced its 15th-month-in-a-row sales downturn as of September, but it seems that the premium car field has not been cooled by the general decline.

Among the premium carmakers Gasgoo hereby enumerated, only Audi, Cadillac and Lincoln posted decrease in September sales. Seen across the first nine months, most automakers accomplished better sales than that of the same period a year ago.

BMW

Last month, BMW Group sold 63,083 units of BMW- and MINI-branded vehicles in China, a year-on-year growth of 5.8%. For the first three quarters, the group's China sales jumped 14.4% over a year ago to 526,017 units.

(Photo source: BMW China)

With reference to year-to-date performance, the BMW 5 Series was the best-seller with its sales climbing 5.7% to 124,700 units. The Jan.-Sept. sales of the BMW 3 Series surpassed 94,000 units. Particularly, the seventh-generation BMW 3 Series, which hit the market in June, is gaining rising sales month by month.

To strengthen the leadership in the SAV (sports activity vehicle) domain, BMW is pressing ahead with the roll-out of the X models. The sales volume of the BMW X1, whose mid-cycle refresh is to come out soon, totaled around 73,400 through September. Besides, over 88,900 units of the all-new BMW X3 were sold in China during the first nine months.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz sold in China 525,890 vehicles through September, only 127 units less than that of BMW, while the number didn't include the sales of Smart brand.

（Photo source: Mercedes-Benz China)

For the first nine months, sales volume of the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class L, the C-Class, the Long-Wheelbase E-Class exceeded 100,000 units, 120,000 units and 110,000 units respectively. Besides, the A-Class L is among the hotter-selling luxury compact sedan models in China with an average monthly sales volume of around 5,000 units.

With only 34,000 units sold from Jan. to Sept., the sales figure of the GLA-Class, the only compact SUV of Mercedes-Benz, was not that pleasant. It is reported that the automaker plans to launch another compact SUV, the GLB-Class, to China in this year’s fourth quarter, which is expected to improve its presence in this segment.

Audi

Although deliveries in China were down 3.3% year on year in September, the overall balance was positive. Seen across all models, Audi delivered 491,040 units in the period January through September; cumulative deliveries were up 1.7%, setting a new benchmark figure.

It is noteworthy that, last month, Audi outperformed BMW and Mercedes-Benz for the first time in 2019.

（Photo source: FAW-Volkswagen Audi)

By the end of this year, China will see the launch of brand-new models such as the all-electric Q2 L e-tron from China for China, the Audi e-tron and the Q8, said Audi.

Cadillac

Cadillac's China sales volume in September reached 18,350 units, up by 11.9% over a month ago, while down by 8.3% from the previous year. Year-to-date sales remained almost flat.

Featuring a balanced deployment between SUVs and cars, Cadillac is going to make all models satisfy the China VI-b Emission standard. As for the SUV sector, the Cadillac XT4, XT5 and XT6 cover from the subcompact to the full-size segments. Hitting the market in mid-July, 2019, the XT6 has gained a relatively outstanding sales volume with 7,536 units sold to date. Besides, the 7-seater XT6 that went go sale in September enriches consumers' options with three trim levels.

(Photo source: Cadillac China)

The CT6 was the fastest-growing sedan model. In September, the sales volume of the CT6 soared 84.1% year on year to 2,899 units. Unveiled at the Chengdu Motor Show 2019, the long-awaited CT5 mid-size sedan will be handed over to consumers this year with prices starting below RMB300,000, said Cadillac. 

Lexus

Lexus boasted double-digit growth in both September sales and Jan.-Sept. sales for Chinese market.

With 5,599 units sold last month, Lexus Hybrids accounted for 31.6% of total monthly sales. Year-to-date sales volume of hybrid models leapt 31.8% from the year-ago period to 144,590 units.

(Photo source: Lexus China)

The sound growth is partially attributed to the strong product lineup designed for China. Aside from the all-new UX that hit the market in January, its first-ever luxury MPV, the Lexus LM, made its world's debut at the Auto Shanghai 2019 and will enter Chinese market in the near future. What's more, the Toyota-owned premium carmaker formally launched at the Chengdu Motor Show the new Lexus RX/RX L, which are now available for sale.

Volvo Cars

Volvo Cars' sales in China reached 109,512 units in the first nine months, up 13.8% compared with the same period last year. The solid performance in the region was on account of continued strong demand for the locally-produced XC60 and the S90 models.

（Photo source: Volvo Cars China)

The automaker has been posting stable sales growth so far this year. For the first half of 2019, Volvo Cars saw its China sales rise 10.2% from the prior-year to 67,741 units, and obtained 25% and 24.8% year-on-year sales jump in July and August respectively.

Porsche

Porsche said its China sales for the period from January to September jumped 14% to 64,237 units, making China once again its fastest-growing market worldwide.

（Photo source: Porsche China)

Porsche presented its first all-electric sports car with the Taycan at the beginning of September. Presale prices of the new BEV model were previously announced—RMB1.498 million for the Taycan Turbo and RMB1.798 million for the Taycan Turbo S.

Lincoln

According to the data released by Ford Motor on a quarterly basis, the total China retail sales of Lincoln reached 4,165 units in September, representing growth through the quarter, up by 11% compared to August and 13% compared to July.

In the third quarter of 2019, Lincoln retailed 11,618 vehicles in China, down by 24.1% year over year.

（Photo source: Lincoln China)

Nautilus continued to be well received in the market, recording third quarter sales of 2,978. Year-to-date sales reached 9,470 units, up 20% from a year ago.

Sales of the Lincoln Navigator flagship luxury SUV maintained strong growth, with sales of 779 units in the third quarter, up 11% year on year. Year-to-date sales reached 2,444 units, surging 45% compared with the same period in 2018.

Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said its retail sales in China jumped 18% year on year to 8,779 units in September, presenting double-digit growth for three straight months.

（Photo source: Chery Jaguar Land Rover)

For the third quarter of 2019, the U.K.-based premium car maker delivered 26,223 vehicles in the world's largest auto market, a remarkable growth of 24.3% from a year ago. It was also the best quarterly sales performance so far this year.

Thanks to the robust growth for the third quarter, the decrease in year-to-date China deliveries has shrunk to 22.4% with 71,949 vehicles sold through September.

To further boost sales in China, JLR plans to roll out 30 refreshed and all-new models into China by end-2021, including the all-new Jaguar XEL, the new Range Rover Sport as well as the new models under the premium high-performance sub-brand SV.