Analysis: Minivan sales in August

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - Minivan sales in the first eight months of 2011 totaled 342,060 units, statistics collected by Gasgoo.com (Chinese) revealed. The segment experienced year-on-year growth of 17.2 percent, lower than the SUV segment (22.9%) but higher than sedans (8.1%). In August alone, minivan sales reached 43,323, 21.1 percent higher than last year (compared with 12.9% and 8.7% for SUVs and sedans, respectively).

Domestic own brands still constituted a majority of minivan sales, followed by American and Japanese brands. Growth among own brands was higher than Japanese-made minivans, but still behind American and German ones.

The proportion of American minivans in the first eight months of the year grew the most from 2010 to 2011, followed by own brand and German vehicles. Japanese minivans lost a slight amount of their market share for the same period.

Looking at the statistics, JAC, Dongfeng Liuzhou and Shanghai GM were the best-selling minivan manufacturers for both the month of August alone and the period of January to August. Among the three, Liuzhou's sales growth was the fastest, over doubling in both time frames. The Joyear was the key driver behind Liuzhou's growth, with its sales performance over quadrupling, while the manufacturer's other minivan, the Lingzhi, saw its sales decrease about 7 percent.

Meanwhile, the Odyssey, Guangqi Honda's key minivan, saw its eight month sales decrease 39.5 percent, while its August sales fell 5.8 percent.

Zhengzhou Nissan, which sell both Dongfeng and Nissan branded vehicles, saw its minivan sales increase over 60 percent, surpassing FAW Jilin, Guangqi Honda and others. On the other hand, FAW Jilin, whose main model is the Xenia, saw a slight decrease of 7.3 percent and 42.9 percent from January to August and in August, respectively. By contrast, sales of Shanghai VW's Touran increased 17.4 percent and 118.5 percent in the same time frame. 

FAW Haima, responsible for the Haima H2, saw its sales decrease 31.2 percent for the first eight months and 0.7 percent in August. Brilliance, Chery, Foton, Changan Ford, Soueast and Dongfeng Yueda Kia also saw their sales decrease from January to August, while Fujian Daimler, Chery, Changan Ford and Soueast's August sales exhibited negative year-on-year growth.