Summary: Chinese passenger automobile sales in September

A total 2.3 million passenger automobiles were sold in China this September, a slight 3.4% more than the 2.23 million units sold last September. The VW Lavida made an incredible resurgence, claiming the number one spot on the monthly sales charts with a total 53,500 units sold. In second place was the Great Wall Haval H6, with 45,200 sales, which was followed by SAIC-GM-Wuling’s Baojun 510 and Hongguang, whose monthly sales totaled 41,000 units and 40,200 units, respectively. The passenger automobile market as a whole showed good signs of recovery this month, with a total 12 models managing to rank in over 30,000 monthly sales, while six models succeeded in surpassing the 40,000 sales mark. However there were still 12 models among the top 20 that saw their sales decrease year-on-year. Worth mentioning is that the three models with the highest year-on-year sales growth rates among the top 20 were all domestic own brand models; namely, they were the Geely Boyue, SAIC-GM Roewe RX5 and SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 310.

Sedan sales in September totaled 1.16 million units, representing a slight year-on-year increase of 4.4%. The VW Lavida led its rivals by a huge margin; its total monthly sales of 53,500 units represented exceptional sales growth of 34.7%. 

Most of the entries among the top 20 best-selling models achieved positive year-on-year sales growth, with only the Buick New Excelle and three of VW’s A-class sedans seeing their sales decrease.

The Nissan Bluebird Sylphy remained the best-selling Japanese sedan model of the month, with its monthly sales of 39,800 units, representing year-on-year sales growth of 5.7%, giving it a secure second place spot. In third place was the VW Sagitar, whose sales grew 15.3% to 39,400 units. Behind it was the Buick New Excelle, whose sales totaled 36,000 units, down a slight 0.9% from last September.

Two own brand sedan models managed to make it into the top 20. SAIC-GM-Wuling’s Baojun 310 managed to make it into the top 10 for the first time in its history, with its 21,700 sales over triple the amount it sold a year ago. It ranked just ahead of the fellow own brand Geely Emgrand EC7, whose sales totaled 21,100 units.

The Chevrolet Cavalier’s sales growth of 114.8% was also commendable; with its monthly sales of 20,900 units, the model was able to rank among the top 20 without any problem.

A total of 976,700 SUVs were sold in China in September, up 10% year-on-year. As usual, the Great Wall Haval H6 led the sales charts, with its sales totaling 45,200 units, up from its August sales volume. The SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 510 once again finished in second place with 41,000 sales. Behind it in third was the VW Tiguan; with 33,500 sales, representing year-on-year sales growth of 48.7% it was once again the best selling SUV model from a joint venture. In fourth place was the GAC Trumpchi GS4, whose sales totaled 30,500, representing year-on-year growth of 10.8%.

Over half of the top 20 best selling SUV models saw their sales decrease year-on-year, with the slight majority of those decreases coming from joint venture models. On the positive side, the Geely Boyue, SAIC-GM Roewe RX5 and Geely Emgrand GS reported impressive sales growth rates. Meanwhile the luxury Audi Q5 showed strong signs of recovery this month, with its sales totaling 13,500 units, up 17.4% year-on-year.

MPV sales in September totaled 161,200 units, contracting 27.5% from the previous year. As expected, the SAIC-GM-Wuling Hongguang was once again the best selling MPV model of the month, with its sales totaling 40,200 units. While its sales were up from August, they were down a full 29.1% year-on-year. The second place SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 730’s sales also increased considerably from the previous year, falling 49.4% to just 20,900 units. In third place was the Buick GL8, which was able to maintain a healthy sales performance; its sales totaled 13,900 units, over doubling from last September.