Summary: 2014 sales target completion rates for major Chinese automobile enterprises by end of Q3

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - Time is fleeting, with 2014 already nearing its end. Looking back at the last three quarters of the year, the domestic passenger automobile market has been growing steadily, with a total of 13.13 million automobiles sold, representing year-on-year growth of 13.2 percent. Most passenger automobile manufacturers posted strong growth rates, however at the same quite a few manufacturers that risk falling short of their annual targets for 2014.

Essentially speaking, by the third quarter of the year, manufacturers should have at least completed 75 percent of their set 2014 sales targets. However the number of manufacturers that have actually managed to do this remain in the minority. According to Gasgoo.com (Chinese) statistics, only seven of the 24 top passenger automobile manufacturers have completed at least of 75 percent of their sales targets. They are namely: Changan, Shanghai VW, FAW-VW, Brilliance BMW, Shanghai GM, Dongfeng Liuzhou and Changan Ford.

European and American brands’ performance were relatively strong, with Japanese manufacturers and own brands generally doing much poorer.

The two Volkswagen manufacturers performed as expected. As of the third quarter, Shanghai VW has sold 1.35 million units, representing 84.3 percent of its 1.6 million units sales target for 2014. The Lavida, Santana, Tiguan and Passat all performed very well, with sales of the Lavida and Santana totaling 291,900 units and 256,400 units, respectively. FAW-VW, meanwhile, sold 1.34 million units, 79.4 percent of its 1.7 million units goal. The FAW-VW Sagitar, Jetta, New Bora and Magotan were all crucial in driving the JV’s performance forward. The Sagitar and Jetta’s sales were especially strong, with 235,000 units and 225,000 units sold in the first three quarters of the year. Sales of the FAW VW Golf nearly doubled this year.

Brilliance BMW’s sales grew 30 percent this year. The joint venture has sold 210,000 vehicles so far over the first three quarters of the year, having completed 77.8 percent of its established annual sales goal.

The French Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën joint venture fell just short of the 75 percent mark of its 700,000 unit sales target, with a total of 518,500 vehicles sold. However, the 700,000 unit sales target is a new one set by the joint venture during the course of this year, up from the original 650,000 unit sales target set at the beginning of 2014.

Shanghai GM and Changan Ford also completed at least 75 percent of their sales targets by the third quarter. The two American-affiliated joint ventures have completed 77.2 percent and 75.3 percent of their respective 1.6 million units and 790,000 units sales goals. The Chevrolet Cruze, Buick Excelle, Chevrolet Sail, Ford Focus, Ford Kuga, New Ford Mondeo and Ford EcoSport were all key models.

Among Japanese and Korean manufacturers, not a single one managed to complete 75 percent of their sales targets after three quarters. Beijing Hyundai performed the best, completing 73.9 percent of its 1.1 million sales target. The joint venture’s sales of 812,400 units represent year-on-year sales growth of 6.8 percent. Fellow Korean-affiliated joint venture Dongfeng Yueda Kia, meanwhile, sold 459,800 vehicles so far this year, completing 70.7 percent of its sales target.

Japanese brand manufacturers, fared a bit worse. Changan Mazda and Guangqi Toyota’s performances were relatively strong. These two JVs sales’ completed 68.3 percent and 66.8 percent of their respective annual sales targets. Dongfeng Honda, Dongfeng Nissan, FAW Toyota and Guangqi Honda were on the other side, with their respective 2014 sales completion rates 63.2 percent, 61.3 percent, 60.9 percent and 53.5 percent.

Domestic own brand manufacturers’ were also very troubling, with only two companies, Changan Automobile and Dongfeng Liuzhou, managing to complete three-fourths of their annual sales targets by the third quarter of the year.

Changan’s performance this year has been especially strong, completing 87.2 percent of its 600,000 units sales target. The 523,000 vehicles that the manufacturer has sold so far represents very commendable year-on-year growth of 43.4 percent. The new Eado contributed the most to Changan’s performance, with a total of 117,300 units sold so far this year. The Honor also performed strongly, with sales totaling 104,300 units.

Meanwhile Dongfeng Liuzhou has sold 230,000 vehicles over the first three quarters of the year, just slightly over 75 percent of its 174,500 unit sales target.

Other own brand manufacturers performed quite a lot worse, with not a single one managing to pass the 70 percent marks of their respective sales targets. FAW Car and SAIC-GM-Wuling’s sales targets for the year are 300,000 units and 1.8 million units, respectively. Their respective sales target rates were 66.9 percent and 65 percent.

Geely, which is currently undergoing an ambitious restructuring program, has seen its sales fall 26.3 percent. It hasn’t managed to complete half of its 580,000 units sales target, far behind its competitors.

BYD, meanwhile, has completed only 59.6 percent of its 2014 sales target.

Finally, Great Wall, which originally set a sales target of 890,000 vehicles, has seen its sales suffer from its revised SUV-centric strategy. The manufacturer’s sales totaled 508,500 vehicles by the third quarter period, down 8.4 percent from the previous year. That figure represents a sales completion rate of 57.1 percent.