BAIC BJEV September sales fall 77.57% year on year

Beijing (Gasgoo)- BAIC BJEV, the electric vehicle arm of BAIC Group, recorded a sharp fall in September sales. Last month, the automaker sold 2,245 vehicles, a 77.57% decrease compared with the same period of last year. In the first nine months, its total sales saw a decline of 78.57% from a year earlier.

As of September, both its sales and production have decreased for nine consecutive months. Its production also had a substantial decrease in September. The monthly output was 221 vehicles, plunging 93.5% year on year. In September, 2019, the company made 3,420 vehicles. By the end of September, only 9,877 vehicles were made in the company’s factory while the production of the same period last year amounted to 22,753 vehicles.

Arcfox Alpha T; photo credit: Arcfox

BAIC BJEV, once a powerful player in China’s electric vehicle market, was left far behind by the overall market and other players. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the country made 136,000 new energy vehicles with a year-on-year increase of 48% and sold 138,000 new energy vehicles with a year-on-year increase of 67.7%. The cumulative production and sales of the first nine months decreased 18.7% and 17.7% respectively from a year ago.

Last month, BYD sold 19,881 new energy vehicles, representing an increase of 45.32% year on year. The monthly sales of Tesla in China also exceeded 10,000 units with 11,329 sold.

The fierce competition in the segment and COVID-19 has brought great consequence on the company’s efforts in product structure adjustment, customer structure adjustment and its marketing, the company once said. In the past several years, the majority of its sales came from so-called industry customers, not individual customers, such as ride-hailing companies and taxi companies. An official from the company confirmed that the ratio of its individual customers to business customers stands at 3:7.

However, for now, the difficulty for ride-hailing companies to generate profit, plus the impact from the pandemic, has dented demand for electric vehicles. What’s more, the phasing out of new energy vehicle subsidies made it hard to maintain its price advantages, exerting negative effect on the company’s sales.

ARCFOX, a dedicated electric vehicle brand from the automaker, may turn around the business. At the Auto China 2020, the Arcfox Alpha T officially went on sale. The battery electric SUV, built by Magna and BJEV in a plant in Zhenjiang province, boasts a maximum range of 650 kilometers.