In 2021, China's automobile production and sales were 26.082 million units and 26.275 million units, up 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, respectively, ending the previous three consecutive years of decline.
Text / "Autobot" Zhang
According to the China Automobile Association, in December 2021, China's automobile production and sales were 2.907 million units and 2.786 million units, up 12.5% and 10.5% respectively month-on-month, and 2.4% and -1.6% year-on-year, respectively. From the perspective of production capacity and sales volume ratio, the problem of lack of core in the automobile industry has been basically solved.
In December 2021, China's passenger car sales were 2.422 million units, an increase of 10.5% month-on-month and an increase of 2.0% year-on-year; in 2021, passenger car sales were 21.482 million units, a cumulative increase of 6.5% year-on-year. With a high base in December 2020, passenger car sales exceeded the same period last year, which is not easy.
In December 2021, commercial vehicle sales were 364,000 units, up 10.5% month-on-month and -20.1% year-on-year; and the cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in 2021 were 4.793 million units, an increase of -6.6% year-on-year.
In terms of inventory, the inventory of passenger cars increased from 434,000 units in early December 2021 to 550,000 units at the end of the month, an increase of 26.6%, indicating that the channel is frantically replenishing vehicles. On the one hand, it is the car companies that want to better complete the annual task; on the other hand, it also shows that major automobile brands will continue to promote the impulse before the Spring Festival in 2022.
For new energy vehicles, 2021 is a year of explosion. In December alone, 531,000 units were sold, breaking the 500,000-unit mark, up 11.1% month-on-month and 113.9% year-on-year. In 2021, the company sold 3.521 million units, an increase of 157.5% year-on-year. Among them, the annual sales of new energy passenger vehicles were 3.334 million units, an increase of 167.5% year-on-year.
2021 is also an explosive year for China's automobile exports, with a cumulative export of 2.015 million vehicles in the whole year, a cumulative increase of 101.1% year-on-year.
Judging from China's automobile sales and growth rate in the past calendar years, since the sales of 28.88 million vehicles reached the top in 2017, it has been negative growth for three consecutive years, and finally stopped falling and rebounded in 2021. Among them, 2019 can be seen as a trough. It is worth noting that the growth rate of 3.8% in 2021 is the highest growth rate in the past 5 years.
The curve of passenger car sales and growth rate in 2006-2021 is similar to the overall car market sales and growth rate curve, but the fluctuations are greater, and 2021 is also the year that finally stopped after three consecutive years of decline, and it is also the highest growth rate in the past five years.
As we all know, due to the impact of the epidemic in 2020, the sales of China's car market that year were a situation of first suppressing and then rising. One of the notable features is that the impulse at the end of the year is very strong, resulting in an extremely high base at the end of the year.
With such a high base at the end of 2020, december 2021 sales exceeded the same period last year, with monthly sales reaching 2.422 million units, achieving positive growth of 2.0%, which is not a simple achievement.
The process of high-end in the automotive industry continues. As can be seen from the above figure, the so-called year-end impulse does not mean that cheap cars sell more, but that the growth of high-end brands is brought about. In December 2021, high-end brand passenger cars sold 376,000 units, an increase of 28.8% year-on-year, more than an order of magnitude higher than the overall car market; in 2021, high-end brand passenger cars sold 3.472 million units, an increase of 20.7% year-on-year, which is also an order of magnitude higher.
As can be seen from the sales and growth rate of commercial vehicles from 2006 to 2021, the previous bear market for commercial vehicles lasted for 6 years from 2015 to 2020, and the annual sales in this 6-year period increased from 3.451 million units to 5.133 million units. The performance in 2021 may mean that commercial vehicles have entered a new round of decline cycle.
Judging from the models of the commercial vehicle year, in fact, the replacement cycle of heavy trucks is over, while the decline in medium-sized trucks, light trucks and mini trucks is not particularly large.
From a histogram of new energy vehicle sales in the past nine years, it can be seen that new energy vehicles suddenly started in 2015, 2015, 2016, 2017 is a high growth rate range, all below one million, 2018, 2019, 2020 sales are almost the same, all in the range of 1.2 million to 1.4 million, 2021 suddenly reached 3.521 million, can be said to be a leap forward growth.
In 2021, the sales volume of new energy vehicles is steadily increasing month by month, with sales of more than 200,000 units in 5 months, more than 300,000 units in 3 months, more than 400,000 units in November, and 531,000 units in December.
Thanks to the rapid growth of new energy vehicles, 2021 is also a year of rapid growth in the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars. In December 2021, Chinese brand passenger cars sold 1.137 million units, with a market share of 46.9%, up 3.4 percentage points. In 2021, Chinese brand passenger cars sold 9.543 million units, an increase of 23.1% year-on-year, and the market share was 44.43%, up 6.0 percentage points. At the same time, Japanese and German brands have declined more sharply, and American brands have risen slightly.
Using the 3.8% increase as a standard, among the top 15 companies in China's auto brand sales in 2021, SAIC, Changan, Great Wall, Dongfeng, Chery, FAW, BYD, GAC and Ideal, a total of 9 car companies. Although Geely Automobile achieved positive growth in 2021, it did not outperform 3.8%. The remaining few are absolutely declining, and the larger declines, such as Shaanxi Automobile and Heavy Duty Truck, are commercial vehicle companies.
For the automotive industry, the situation in 2021 is complex and difficult. In such an environment, China's automobile industry has taken the lead in achieving lane change and overtaking, and vigorously developed the new energy automobile industry. In 2021, the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan", new energy vehicles have grown by leaps and bounds, and the market share of Chinese auto brands has also increased significantly. 【Copyright Notice】This article is the original manuscript of Automan Media, and may not be reproduced without authorization.