(Yicai Global) July 15 — China’s automobile sales plunged in the first half of the year due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreaks, with only BYD and GAC Toyota among major Chinese carmakers achieving half of their annual sales goal in the period, according to official statistics.
BYD sold 646,000 vehicles in the six months ended June 30, up 162 percent from a year earlier and making up 53.8 percent of its annual sales target, data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed earlier this week. Sales of GAC Toyota, a joint venture between China’s GAC Group and Japan’s Toyota Motor, rose 19.9 percent to 500,000 units, exactly half of its sales goal for this year.
Some 12.1 million vehicles were sold in China in the first half of the year, down 6.6 percent from the same period in 2021, according to data from the CAAM. The total sales loss was around 1 million units between March and May, when the Covid-19 epidemic was at its worst.
Shenzhen-based BYD benefited from the rapid growth of the new energy vehicle market. Its NEV sales exceeded 100,000 units a month over the past four months, hitting a monthly record high of 134,000 units in June.
Camry, one of GAC Toyota’s most popular vehicle models, experienced booming sales, and the firm’s new models Front Lander and Venza also sold well, an industry insider told Yicai Global, adding that these two factors combined boosted the JV’s total sales.
None of the other 13 leading Chinese automakers finished half of their annual sales goals in the first half, Yicai Global learned based on the companies’ sales performance.
SAIC Volkswagen, a JV between Shanghai-based SAIC Motor and German carmaker Volkswagen, and Chery Automobile posted 7.9 percent and 12 percent sales growths, respectively, in the first half, the only two of the remaining 13 carmakers to experience an increase in sales.
SAIC Volkswagen’s sales fell 4 percent in the five months ended May 31 from a year earlier, due to the impact of the epidemic, but rebounded 94 percent in June. This helped the firm achieve sales growth in the first half of the year.
Most automakers reached only 30 percent to 50 percent of their annual sales goals in the first half. China Chang’an Automobile Group and FAW-Volkswagen Automotive, a JV between China’s FAW Group and Volkswagen, recorded relatively better performance after BYD and GAC Toyota, accomplishing 49 percent and 44.3 percent of their sales targets, respectively.
Chinese private carmaker Great Wall Motors finished only 27.3 percent of its annual sales goal in the first half, the lowest among the top 15. Earlier this year, the company set up a very ambitious goal to sell 1.9 million vehicles in 2022, up 48.4 percent from last year’s sales.
Great Wall Motors sold less than 520,000 vehicles between January and June, down 16.1 percent from a year earlier, recording the second-biggest drop in sales among the top 15 firms. In June, sales edged up 0.5 percent to 101,200 units, while other automakers saw a great recovery in sales in the period. Its major brand Haval sold just 51,300 units last month, down 14.5 percent from a year earlier.
