Two bright spots in China local automakers’ Sept. sales

Beijing (Gasgoo)- New energy vehicle (NEV) sales and foreign markets’ sales were two bright spots of Chinese automakers’ September performance even though most of them saw year-on-year decrease in overall monthly sales.

Among the eight major local automakers Gasgoo compiled, six had year-on-year decline in September sales, but most of them had at least two-digit increase in NEV sales from a year earlier. For example, GAC Group sold 164,337 vehicles in September, down by 24.63% year on year, but its monthly NEV sales jumped 86.2% versus the same month of last year. Thanks to the sharp NEV sales increase, BYD’s monthly sales managed to jump nearly 90% year on year.

In terms of the year-to-date results, many local automakers saw much higher growth in NEV sales than total sales. Five automakers’ total NEV sales saw three-digit surge in the first nine months of this year. Great Wall Motor had the largest jump in NEV sales in the period.

By NEV sales share out of the total monthly sales, six out of the eight automakers had a share of over 10% while the seventh was GAC Group, with a share of 9.25%.

BYD had the largest NEV sales share among those said automakers. In September, 88.75% of those vehicles the Warren Buffett-backed company sold were NEVs, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

The sales share of BYD’s internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) declined substantially since the beginning of this year, from 52.4% in January to 11.25% in September. From July to September, the ICE share was around 10%. During an investor meeting in September, BYD disclosed that it aims to replace ICEVs with DM-i models (PHEVs).

The company is accelerating its electrification pace. In January this year, BYD launched its DM-i super hybrid technology; in September, it officially launched its BEV-dedicated e-platform 3.0 and the Dolphin, the first model built on the platform, hit the market at the 2021 Chengdu Motor Show. The first full-month sales of the Dolphin reached 3,000 units.

Export/overseas sales are another bright spot for local automakers’ sales. For example, Chery’s export sales in September surged 108.7% from a year earlier to 22,052 vehicles, driving its year-to-date export volume up by 155% to 187,910 vehicles, which accounted for 28.85% of its total sales cumulatively in the Jan.-Sept. period.

Great Wall Motor sold 11,437 vehicles in foreign markets, representing a year-on-year increase of 47.1% while the total export volume soared 136.3% year on year to 97,946 vehicles, accounting for 11% of its total cumulative sales of this year.

After the top SUV and pickup manufacturer bought a Brazil factory from Mercedes Benz, it revealed its strategy for European markets at the 2021 IAA Mobility. At the end of this year, European consumers can order the Coffee 01 PHEV and the ORA Haomao, with deliveries starting next year. At the beginning of this month, Great Wall Motor was reported in talks with Nissan over the possible takeover of the latter’s vehicle plant in Barcelona, Spain, which was considered feasible as the company is expanding its presence across the world.

Geely exported 74,714 vehicles in the first three quarters of this year, growing 94% year on year while the monthly export in September were 8,013 vehicles. Last month, the shipping volume of LYNK & CO vehicles, namely “01 HEV” and “01 PHEV” to the European market was 2,000 units. The brand’s total shipping volume in the first nine months of 2021 was 7,950 units and a total of 1,990 units of vehicle were delivered to its subscription customers in the European market under its innovative subscription model so far this year.