The Chinese passenger car market fell for the first time since 1990

15 January 2019

Sales of new passenger cars in China in 2018 decreased by 2.8%

According to the China Association of automobile manufacturers (SAAM), total sales of new cars in China in 2018 decreased by 2.8% compared to the previous year and amounted to 28.1 million, which was the first time since... 1990!
This is due both to a General slowdown in the Chinese and global economies, as well as a short but highly unprofitable U.S.-China tariff war. However, in the automotive industry and the auto market of China have enough problems, including the tariff restrictions on the import and export (echoes of a trade war) as well as minimize government tax exemptions for cars with internal combustion engines (for cars with volume of engines less than 1.6 liters) and a chain of crises, including, for example, the spring short-term loans crisis and the crisis in electric mobility startups, and soon, turn each of them influenced the reduction in sales volumes of cars and even cars with electric. In addition, begin to fully manifest the fundamental reasons for the market slowdown. So, while formally extremely low by world standards the level of car ownership is less than 100 cars per thousand inhabitants, this process has already faced in China with extremely serious negative factors such as infrastructure and environmental nature, for example, a direct ban on the purchase of cars in the largest (and therefore the richest) cities because of the congestion of city streets, and perhaps more serious environmental problems, due to the policy of Beijing has shifted the focus from conventional cars with internal combustion engines in the development of environmentally friendly modes of transport to the actuator, mainly electric cars.
It is therefore not surprising that sales of vehicles PEV, i.e. battery electric vehicles (BEV), rechargeable hybrids (PHEV) and electric vehicles fuel cell (FCEV) continued to grow last year at a faster pace. Sales total segment PEV reached 1 million 256,5 million, which is 62% more than in the previous year. This includes approximately 984 thousand electric cars, hybrids 271 thousand and 1527 units of electric vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells.
On this optimistic background in the "green" segment of the sales of traditional (almost exclusively diesel) new passenger cars in China, by contrast, fell in December to 16% to 2 million 233,1 thousand And they are falling for the sixth month in a row. Sales of crossovers and SUVs in December also fell by 16% to 981,6 thousand In the segment of multipurpose vehicles (Mitrofanov and microbicides) last month saw the sharpest drop, amounting to minus 23% or 176.2 thousand cars. Sales of traditional sedans fell by 14% to 1 million 28.5 thousand, while sales of minivans (MPVs) declined by 10% to 46.8 thousand
In General, for 2018 the sales of new passenger cars in China reached 23.7 million, which is 4.1% less than in 2017.
However, the supply of new commercial vehicles including trucks and buses, in the past year continued to grow, increasing by 5.1% to 4 million 371 thousand
However, in December SAAM information on sales of new commercial vehicles were not disclosed.
The Association predicts that new car sales of all types in China in 2019 will amount to 28 million, virtually unchanged from 2018.
It is also expected that will remain unchanged, ie at the level of the 23.6 million and sales of new cars. Delivery of new commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks, will increase by 1% to 4.4 million.