Summary: Changing composition of the Chinese passenger automobile market from 2002 to 2012

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - Following its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2002, the Chinese automobile market undergone a period of rapid expansion. According to statistics compiled by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), Chinese sales of domestically manufactured passenger automobiles jumped from just 1.26 million units in 2002 to over 13 million units in 2012.

Statistics show that in the decade since China joined the WTO, domestic own brand manufacturers' combined share in the Chinese passenger automobile market remained under one-third for nine years out of ten. However, over the ten year period, own brands' market share has generally been in an upward shift, increasing from 24.93 percent in 2002 to 31.61 percent in 2009. That year marked the first since 2002 that own brand manufacturers' combined market share surpassed 30 percent. The following year their share reached a record high of 33.64 percent. Since then, their share decreased slightly to 30.66 percent in 2012.

The majority of the passenger automobile sales in China have been of foreign branded vehicles. Ever since 2002, their combined market share has not dropped below 65 percent. Among the foreign brands, German and Japanese brands' shares in the market were the largest in 2012.

German manufacturers' combined share in the Chinese passenger automobile market was at its highest in 2002, when it exceeded 40 percent. However, in the following years German brands encountered increasing competition from own brands and manufacturers of other nationalities. German manufacturers' share dropped to under 18 percent in 2005, and for the next six years was surpassed by Japanese manufacturers. In 2012, German manufacturers' share totaled 21.7 percent, finally regaining the number one foreign brand spot.

Japanese brands' share have been in a constant upward shift since 2002, when their combined share was just above 15 percent. In 2005 their combined share surpassed those of German brands, and finally reached a record high of 30.79 percent in 2008. However, due to various factors, their share fell over the next years, finishing at 19.17 percent in 2012.

American and Korean manufacturers' market shares have also increased in the ten years since 2002, growing 4.32 percent and 10.11 percent over the decade, respectively. By comparison, French manufacturers' share in the country decreased from the 6.74 percent reported in 2002 to just 3.33 percent in 2012.