China's vehicle inventory alert index in Oct. 2023 edges up MoM, but dips YoY

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- China's vehicle inventory alert index (VIA), which reflects the inventory pressure on automobile dealers, edged up 0.8 percentage points month on month in October 2023, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association (“CADA”).

The VIA stood at 58.6% last month, dipping 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.

The index in October 2023 was still above the official warning threshold (50%).

In the first half of October, following the robust sales period during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, numerous local car exhibitions and promotional events led to a significant surge in showroom foot traffic, said the CADA. Dealers witnessed a rapid increase in orders and sales volumes. As the traditionally peak season "Golden September, Silver October" drew to a close, both manufacturers and dealers were unwilling to let up and promptly initiated "Double Eleven" shopping festival promotions. Approximately 23.6% of dealers indicated that their "Double Eleven" vehicle shopping events would commence in the second half of October, with some market demand expected to spill over into November. Coupled with a subdued post-holiday market, sales in the latter half of the month were moderate.

Entering the fourth quarter of this year, automakers and dealers maintained their momentum, keeping up their sales promotional efforts, and the demand for vehicle purchases continued to surge, the CADA added.

In summary, China’s automotive market in October is expected to maintain its growth trend from September, with an estimated retail sales volume of around 1.95 million passenger vehicles.

In October 2023, the VIAs of luxury & imported brands, mainstream joint-venture brands, and China’s domestic brands stood at 57%, 61.9%, and 53.3%, climbing 2.9, 0.4, and 0.2 percentage points over a month ago, respectively.