China PV wholesales in Dec. 2020: Hongguang MINIEV among top 10 PV models

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The wholesale volume of China's locally-produced PVs (referring to cars, MPVs, SUVs and minibuses) amounted to 2.356 million units in December 2020, rising 6.6% and 2.5% compared to the previous year and the previous month respectively, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

By the end of Dec., China had seen its PV wholesales grow year on year for eight months in a row. Notably, the increase between July and December all stood at around 7%.

The CPCA said the robust performance was primarily credited to the better-than-expected recovery in macro-economic climate and export business, the low base for the year-ago period due to the implementation of China Ⅵ emission standards, as well as the boom in the new energy vehicle (NEV) market.

For the year of 2020, PV wholesales in China totaled 20.121 million units, falling 6.2% from a year ago because of the coronavirus pandemic and an early Chinese New Year Holiday.

Hongguang MINIEV is the only EV model among top 10 PV models

There were six car models and three SUV models among the top 10 domestically-made PV models by Dec. wholesales. Aside from the Wuling Hongguang, the Lavida, and the Bora, the others all recorded sales increase over a year earlier. The fastest-growing one was Dongfeng Honda’s CR-V, whose Dec. wholesales soared 97.4%.

Hongguang MINI EV; photo credit: SAIC-GM-Wuling

The Hongguang MINIEV cracked the top 10 PV models last month and it was also the only NEV model on the list.

Volkswagen's models among top 10 car models all face year-on-year decrease

According to the CPCA, China's homegrown car wholesales volume climbed 2.4% from the year-ago period to 1.04 million units in December. As for the full-year performance, automakers in China sold roughly 9.264 million cars, a decrease of 9.8%.

Among the top 10 car models by Dec. wholesales, only two models, namely the Hongguang MINIEV and the Emgrand, were from China's indigenous brands.

The Sylphy was not only the best-selling car model by Dec. wholesales, but also the No.1 PV model for the same period of last year. The blooming sales mainly flowed from its stylish exterior, comfortable interior layout, and more importantly, a sales channel available for both old and new generations.

All New Lavida; photo credit: SAIC Volkswagen

Three Volkswagen-branded three models—the Lavida, the Bora and the Sagitar—all posted year-on-year drop in Dec. wholesales. Compared to November, both the Lavida and the Sagitar dropped one spot to the third and the seventh, while the Bora slid three places to the sixth.

The Model 3 moved up two spots to the eighth place. With 23,804 units sold, the Tesla-branded all-electric model scored a 10.2% increase over a month ago. The CPCA's data also show that the Model 3 was also crowned the hottest-selling NEV model in China for 2020. Its full-year sales reached 137,459 units.

Six of top 10 SUV models from China's local brands

The CPCA said the SUV wholesales volume rose 12.6% from the year-ago period to 1.129 million units. For the year of 2020, automakers in China sold around 9.429 million SUVs, a slight decrease of 0.2%.

Among the top 10 SUV models by Dec. wholesales, six were from China's self-owned marques, including the champion and the second runner-up.

Haval H6; photo credit: Haval

The Haval H6 still ranked first in SUV domain. Its wholesales soared 33.4% year on year to 55,632 units in December, 18,053 units more than that of the runner-up, the CR-V. The other Haval-branded SUV, the Haval M6, had a sales growth of 7.8% with its ranking remaining same compared to Nov.

Dropping three spots to the sixth, the CS75 was the only one that suffered decrease last month.

The Dec. wholesales of these joint-venture brands—the CR-V, the XR-V and the Envision—all showed hike of over 70%.