In 221, domestic automobile production and sales were 26.082 million units and 26.275 million units, respectively, an increase of 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, ending a three-year decline since 2018. Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Association, said in an interview with the Reporter of China Economic Network, "This is due to the joint efforts of new energy vehicles, independent brands, and automobile exports." ”
"In 222, the domestic auto market is expected to maintain a positive growth trend." Fu Bingfeng believes that, first of all, the long-term good fundamentals of China's macro economy will not change, ensuring the sustained growth of the automobile market; Secondly, the automobile market has great potential and the demand is still strong; Third, the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, the market impact brought by the epidemic has gradually weakened; From the second, with the gradual easing of chip shortages, the supply capacity of automobiles will be further released; Finally, the market demand for new energy vehicles is strong, further promoting the steady growth of automobile consumption.
Despite the double impact of the scattered outbreak of the epidemic and the "lack of core", the Chinese auto market still delivered a satisfactory answer in 221. Yesterday (January 12), the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as "CAAM") released data showing that in 221, domestic automobile production and sales were 26.082 million units and 26.275 million units, respectively, an increase of 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, ending the three consecutive years of decline since 2018.
"The domestic auto market can achieve positive growth thanks to the joint efforts of new energy vehicles, independent brands, and automobile exports." Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Association, said in an interview with China Economic Network that the annual sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 3.5 million, indicating that it has shifted from policy-driven to market-driven; The market share of independent brands has exceeded 44%, close to the best level in history; Annual exports exceeded 2 million units for the first time, achieving a breakthrough that has been hovering around 1 million units for many years.
In the past December, automobile production and sales totaled 2.907 million units and 2.786 million units, up 12.5% and 10.5% respectively, with production up 2.4% y/y and sales down 1.6% y/y. Among them, the growth rate of production turned from negative to positive, and the decline in sales narrowed by 7.5 percentage points.
The share of passenger cars in more than 21 million autonomous vehicles increased significantly
As the main force in the automobile market, the production and sales of passenger cars in 221 were 21.408 million units and 21.482 million units, up 7.1% and 6.5% year-on-year, respectively, an increase of 3.7 and 2.7 percentage points higher than that of the industry, of which four categories of models showed positive growth. The China Automobile Association said, "Promoted by the strong domestic consumer market, China's passenger car market has exceeded 20 million units for seven consecutive years. ”
Judging from the changes in passenger car sales throughout the year, the passenger car market showed a significant growth rate due to the low base at the beginning of the year, but with the problem of insufficient chip supply gradually emerging, the rapid increase in the base of the same period, the passenger car market began to decline, and the decline was expanded. Entering the fourth quarter, with the gradual easing of chip problems, the passenger car market has stabilized and the decline has gradually narrowed.
In December, production and sales of passenger cars totaled 2.527 million units, up 13.2% and 10.5% month-on-month, up 8.4% and 2.0% year-on-year, respectively, with growth from negative to positive in November. Caquef de libies said that in December, as the chip supply problem eased, the production and sales of passenger cars rebounded by superimposing the impulse factors of the company at the end of the year.
Among them, the market share of independent brands has continued to increase. According to the data, in 221, a total of 9.543 million Chinese brand passenger cars were sold, an increase of 23.1% year-on-year, and the market share was 44.4%, an increase of 6.0 percentage points over the previous year; In December, 10% y/y and 46.9% of the units were sold, up 10% year-on-year.
"Independent brands have developed by leaps and bounds in recent years, and their concentration is constantly increasing." Zhu Huarong, rotating president of the China Automobile Association, said that on the one hand, the technical capabilities of independent brands are fully constructed and fully equipped with the ability of independent research and development; On the other hand, product innovation continues to meet the needs of consumers in the Chinese market for upgrading. In addition, the quality of the products of independent brands has reached or even exceeded the level of international brands.
Automobile exports hit a record high and showed four highlights
In contrast, car exports performed more brightly. According to the export statistics caliber of vehicle enterprises, in 221, automobile exports were 2.015 million units, an increase of 1 times year-on-year, accounting for 7.7% of total automobile sales, an increase of 3.7 percentage points over the previous year; In December, 223,000 vehicles were exported, up 11.4% month-on-month and 54.0% year-on-year.
It is worth noting that China's automobile exports exceeded 2 million for the first time, achieving a breakthrough of hovering around 1 million for many years. Among them, new energy vehicles performed prominently, with a cumulative export of 310,000 vehicles in 221, an increase of 3 times year-on-year.
Judging from the export situation of automobile enterprises throughout the year, the monthly exports maintained rapid growth year-on-year, of which the average monthly export volume in the fourth quarter exceeded 200,000 vehicles, and the performance was more prominent. By model, passenger car exports were 1.614 million units, up 1.1 times year-on-year; Commercial vehicle exports totaled 402,000 units, up 70.7% y/y
"In 221, China's automobile exports achieved a major breakthrough, and there are also four major highlights." Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary general of the China Automobile Association, said that first of all, the exports of Chinese automobile companies have shown rapid growth, and 9 of the top 10 companies have achieved growth; Secondly, passenger cars and commercial vehicles have grown rapidly; Third, the export of new energy vehicles has exploded; Finally, the direct investment model plays an important role in laying the foundation for continued growth in the future.
Exceeded 3.5 million new energy vehicles out of the "policy city" in the whole year
It is worth noting that the annual production and sales of new energy vehicles exceeded the mark of 3.5 million units, reaching 3.545 million units and 3.521 million units respectively, an increase of 1.6 times year-on-year, and the market penetration rate reached 13.4%, 8 percentage points higher than that of the previous year. Among them, production and sales in December reached 518,000 units and 531,000 units, respectively, a record high, an increase of 1.2 times and 1.1 times year-on-year, respectively, and the market penetration rate reached 19.1%.
"In 221, new energy vehicles have become the biggest highlight of the automotive industry, and have shifted from policy-driven to market-driven new development stages, showing a good development situation of both market scale and development quality, laying a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the '14th Five-Year Plan' automobile industry." Chen Shihua said.
Throughout the year, new energy vehicles have maintained a booming development situation in production and sales. Since March, the monthly sales of new energy have exceeded 200,000 units; In August, more than 300,000 vehicles were built. In the following November and December, new energy vehicles crossed the 400,000 and 500,000 vehicles mark respectively, showing a sustained growth momentum.
From the perspective of models, the monthly production and sales of pure electric vehicles have also refreshed the historical record. In December, production and sales of pure electric vehicles totaled 434,000 units and 448,000 units, respectively, up 1.1 times year-on-year. Production and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles totaled 84,000 units and 82,000 units, up 1.6 times and 1.2 times, respectively, year-on-year; The production and sales of fuel cell vehicles reached 627 and 486 units, respectively, an increase of 1.4 times and 1.1 times year-on-year, respectively.
Talking about the development of the automobile market this year, Fu Bingfeng believes that "in 222 years, the domestic automobile market is expected to maintain a positive growth trend. He explained: First of all, the long-term good fundamentals of China's macro economy will not change, ensuring the sustained growth of the automobile market; Secondly, the automobile market has great potential and the demand is still strong; Third, the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, the market impact brought by the epidemic has gradually weakened; From the second, with the gradual easing of chip shortages, the supply capacity of automobiles will be further released; Finally, the market demand for new energy vehicles is strong, further promoting the steady growth of automobile consumption. (China Economic Network reporter Jiang Zhiwen)