China FAW recently disclosed its production and sales data in January, with 290371 units produced this month and 311508 vehicles this month. Among them, the sales volume of the Hongqi brand exceeded 40,000, and it continued to maintain a rapid development trend. In stark contrast, the sales volume of the Pentol brand is only 5466 vehicles in the peak season, and the performance of independent brands is uneven.
Among them, the Hongqi brand produced 37,758 vehicles, an increase of 60.9% year-on-year, and the sales volume was 42,158 vehicles, an increase of 29.6% year-on-year; the Jiefang brand sold 26,000 vehicles, with sales exceeding 28,000 vehicles; and the Besturn brand produced 3,500 vehicles and sold 5,466 vehicles. The total production of the joint venture brand is 222537 units, and the total sales volume is 234718. Among them, FAW-Volkswagen produced 181573 vehicles and sold 182977 vehicles; FAW Toyota produced 40,964 vehicles and sold 51,741 vehicles.
It can be seen that the joint venture brand is an important sales pillar of FAW Group, and the two contribute 234718 sales, accounting for 75.35% of sales. From the perspective of sales in 2021, the two joint ventures are also the most important sources of sales of FAW, of which FAW-Volkswagen sales were 1.858 million units; FAW Toyota's annual sales reached 860,000 units, an increase of 8% year-on-year, and the two achieved sales of 2.718 million units, accounting for 77.66% of sales.
Of course, independent brands have grown strongly in recent years, especially the Hongqi brand in the past four years, from more than 4,700 vehicles per year to 300,000 vehicles per year, achieving a 63-fold growth. In 2021, it will sell more than 300,000 vehicles, setting a new milestone. In January, Hongqi sold 42,158 vehicles, an increase of 29.6% year-on-year, and its monthly sales exceeded 40,000 for the first time to achieve a record high. Among them, Hongqi H5 sold 13137 vehicles, Hongqi HS5 sold 24451 vehicles, and Hongqi H7 and Hongqi HS7 all had good performance.
In addition, the Jiefang brand is also stable, with sales of more than 28,000 vehicles in January and 440,000 vehicles in 2021, and the industry position is further consolidated. It can be said that China FAW's own brands have played a relatively good role, except for FAW Besturn. In January, sales were only 5466 vehicles, accounting for less than 2% of the group's total sales, becoming a "drag oil bottle" version.
Playing the background of FAW Group, Besturn can be said to be born with a golden key. Since its inception in 2006, the Pentol brand has been pinned on high hopes. In 2020, FAW Besturn put forward the sales target of "reaching 200,000+ units in 2020, challenging 400,000+ units in 2021, and achieving 1.5 million units in 2025".
However, these goals have proven unattainable. By 2021, FAW Besturn has released a new brand positioning, a new brand LOGO and a new sales target, FAW Besturn plans to achieve 300,000 vehicle sales in 2023, 600,000 vehicles in 2025, and challenge the target of 1 million vehicles.
In the FAW Group's target plan of 4.1 million vehicles, the Besturn brand will achieve the target of 100,000 vehicles. Judging from the sales volume of the Pentium brand in the first month, it seems that there is a lack of confidence. Relative to the clear positioning of the Hongqi brand and the continuous enrichment of the product line, the Pentium brand still seems to be repeating yesterday's story, and it is urgent to achieve a breakthrough.
In addition, due to manufacturing defects in the vehicle's electronic vacuum pump, it may cause damage to its internal blades and cause stalls, resulting in no vacuum replenishment of the brake assist system. Vehicles may lose brake power during normal driving, and in extreme cases, there is a risk of accidents in the vehicle, and there are potential safety hazards. China FAW will recall 5,280 Besturn B30 EV400 vehicles and replace the vehicle with an electronic vacuum pump to eliminate safety hazards.