Summary: Chinese luxury automobile market over first three quarters of 2014

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - According to statistics collected by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), Audi was China's most successful luxury automobile manufacturer for the first three quarters of the year. It was followed by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus, Volvo, Cadillac, Porsche, Infiniti and the Citroën DS brand.

The big three of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz continue to maintain their firm grip on the Chinese luxury automobile market. Their respective sales for the first three quarters of 2014 totaled 415,700 units, 335,900 units and 203,500 units, respectively. The big three manufacturers dominate 74 percent of luxury automobile sales over the first three quarters of the year.

Furthermore, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have all managed to maintain steady year-on-year sales growth. Audi and BMW's year-on-year sales growth rates for the three quarter time period were 16.0 percent and 17.9 percent, respectively, while Mercedes-Benz's sales growth rate for that duration was an astounding 30.5 percent.

Year-on-year sales growth rates for second-tier luxury manufacturers have been even higher, with many manufacturers reporting growth of over 35 percent. Jaguar Land Rover remains a leading manufacturer among second-tier luxury automobile brands, with astounding sales growth of 38.3 percent. The 66,500 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles sold is nearly 30,000 units higher than its nearest competitors in the second-tier market. Jaguar Land Rover, along with other manufacturers, are also pursuing ambitious localization plans to help solidify their market positions.

Lexus and Volvo, whose sales over the three quarter period totaled 62,400 units and 58,900 units, are falling further behind Jaguar Land Rover. Their respective year-on-year sales growth rates were 24.9 percent and 35.8 percent. Meanwhile, Infiniti and Cadillac also reported high sales growth rates of 91.1 percent and 62.6 percent. These high rates have been attributed to both manufacturers' increased attention to the Chinese market. The brand new Citroën DS brand's performance has also met lofty expectations, with over 17,000 vehicles sold over the first three quarters of the year.

The Chinese market is becoming increasingly important to the luxury automobile market. For instance, 26.3 percent of Jaguar Land Rover's sales now come from China, compared to 21.3 percent last year. Likewise, the percentage of Volvo's sales come from China is now 17.4 percent, up 3.4 percent from a year ago. The Chinese market accounts for 32 percent, 22 percent and 17 percent of the big three of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.