Summary: Chinese passenger automobile sales in 2013

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - With the Chinese New Year having passed, final complete sales figures for passenger automobile sales for the year of 2013 have finally been officially released. Shanghai General Motors led the sales charts, followed closely by Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen.

2013 marked a recovery for the market, with sales growth rates increasing from the previous years. The 'Big Three' manufacturers all reported annuals sales of over 1.5 million units and over 13 percent year-on-year sales growth.

Beijing Hyundai ranked fourth in the 2013 chart, with sales of over one million units. The joint venture's impressive year-on-year sales growth rate of 20.4 percent was attributed to its new models.

On the other hand, Dongfeng Nissan is still suffering from the Diaoyu Island controversy two years ago, finishing behind Beijing Hyundai. Its annual sales totaled 928,200 units, over 20 percent more than the amount it sold the previous year. The JV's sales in December alone reached 107,600 units.

Changan Ford, whose sales totaled 682,700 units in 2013, reported impressive sales growth of 60.3 percent. The new and popular EcoSport, Kuga and New Mondeo were major drivers behind the JV's sales.

Seventh place entry SAIC-GM-Wuling, despite being a joint venture, offers a variety of own brand products. It sold a total of 635,500 units and reported sales growth of near 50 percent. Great Wall, which placed eighth, was the only fully domestic own brand manufacturer to rank among the top ten top performing manufacturers. Its sales grew 28.7 percent from 2012 to 2013.

Ninth and tenth place finishers FAW Toyota and Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën respectively sold 554,700 units and 550,000 units last year.