Summary: Minivan segment in China from 2010 onwards

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - Despite still lagging far behind the sedan and SUV segments, minivan are gradually entering more and more Chinese households. This development has been shown by increasing sales volumes. According to statistics by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), the portion of the entire Chinese passenger automotive market that is comprised of minivan sales has increased from just 4% in 2010 to 10.9% to this year.

The minivan segment in China has been able to maintain steady growth since 2010. This growth has been attributed to the high level of convenience that minivans are able to offer larger households.

The minivan market has been hugely influenced by the performance of the immensely popular SAIC-GM-Wuling Hongguang. Commanding a market share of just 1.4% in 2010, the Hongguang’s share increased to 27.4% in 2012 and 34% in 2013 before reaching a high of 41.5% in 2014. The Hongguang has benefited from a precise marketing strategy which saw it enter the market before it became competitive while providing a comprehensive set of features at a reasonable price point. However, with competition in the segment intensifying and the number of new models, including the fellow SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 730, also continuing to increase, the Hongguang’s market share has slipped as of late. The Hongguang’s share in the overall minivan segment over the first half of this year was 30.1%.

Domestic own brands continue to dominate the minivan segment, with own brand models accounting for 87.4% of all minivans sold in the country. Nine of the ten best-selling minivan models in China are own brand models. Following the Hongguang, other strongly performing models include the Baojun 730, Changan Honor, BAIC Weiwang M20, Dongfeng Fengxing Lingzhi and Dongfeng Fengxing Joyear.

By contrast, only one Sino-foreign joint venture brand product, Shanghai GM’s Buick GL8, was able to make the top ten minivan sales charts, where it ranked in seventh place. A lack of competitive products is the main reason joint ventures haven’t been able to compete with own brands in the minivan segment.

Although Chinese sedan sales have been falling as of late, it is unrealistic to believe that minivan sales will surpass them anytime soon. Likewise, the SUV segment, which is quite a bit larger than the minivan segment, still remains hotly popular in the country. How much more the minivan segment will be able to grow in the coming years remains to be seen.