(Text/Yu Waijun Editor/Lou Bing) In the context of the "opening of the door" in the entire passenger car market, the MPV market showed a downward trend in terms of wholesale and terminal retail sales of car companies in January, ranking first among the three major model segments, and the overall market share further shrank.
According to the data of the Association, in January 2022, the wholesale sales of the domestic MPV market were 82,000 units, down 4.8% from the same period last year; terminal retail sales were 101,000 units, down 10.5% year-on-year, and the market share was 4.9%, down 0.5 percentage points from the same period last year.
The decline in the MPV market in January this year is mainly due to the following reasons: on the one hand, the recovery of the car market in the first half of last year exceeded expectations, resulting in a large base in the same period last year; on the other hand, in the context of chip shortage, many car companies have tilted their production capacity to the two mainstream passenger car markets of cars and SUVs.
At the time of the decline of the MPV market in January, the entire market pattern has undergone no small changes, that is, the sales advantage of independent brands in this segment of the market has gradually been reduced by the joint venture brand, and the share of the high-end MPV market is rapidly exploring. According to the data, the sales volume of MPV of its own brands in January was 42,051 units, and the sales of MPV of joint venture brands were 40,173 units.
As China's auto market changes from an incremental market to a stock competitive market and consumption continues to upgrade, it is inevitable that the market share of low-end MPV will be gradually compressed. In the list of the TOP 15 MPV sales in January this year, few low-end MPV models have entered the list, while the number of mid-to-high-end MPV models on the list has increased.
As the main force of the low-end MPV market segment, Wuling Hongguang staged Waterloo in January this year, with wholesale sales of only 2139 vehicles, down 73.9% from the same period last year, and the ranking fell from long-term hegemony to 13th. However, in terms of terminal retail, Wuling Hongguang still ranked first, with retail sales of 26,063 units in January, down 13.8% year-on-year, and it is clear that SAIC-GM-Wuling is adjusting inventory.
In addition to the sharp decline in Wuling Hongguang, capgemini, Baojun 730 and Ruifeng and other low-end MPV models have seen a sharp decline in sales. According to the data, Capgemini, Baojun 730 and Ruifeng sold 3493, 993 and 2785 vehicles in January this year, down 65.5%, 39.7% and 30.2% respectively year-on-year.
Unlike the downturn in the mid- and low-end MPV segment, the share of the mid-to-high-end MPV market positioned in the home and business sectors is constantly rising. In the top 15 list of MPV sales in January this year, mid-to-high-end MPV models occupied 9 seats.
As the leader in the mid-to-high-end MPV segment, the Buick GL8 became the only model in the entire MPV market to sell more than 10,000 units in the month, with sales of 17,859 units in January, an increase of 0.4% year-on-year, and won the first single model sales of MPV in January. Despite the challenges of competitors, thanks to the long-term accumulation of word of mouth and brand effect in the market, the benchmark position in the mid-to-high-end MPV market segment is still unshakable.
In order to further enhance the competitiveness of products, SAIC-GM Buick also released a new Buick GL8 concept car during the Guangzhou Auto Show last year, which was fully upgraded in terms of luxury and intelligence, further strengthening the travel space and trying to redefine this market segment. Unlike the buick GL8's strong market performance, the Buick GL6, which was released from the same door, was affected by the impact of the 3-cylinder engine and fell into a downturn shortly after its launch. Sales in January this year were 1,002 units, up 27.3% year-on-year.
In Terms of Honda, the competitiveness of products has been further improved after the mid-term restructuring of Alexandre and Odyssey at the end of last year, and the market performance has become more stable. Among them, The Alexand sold 3,019 vehicles in January this year, an increase of 119.2% over the same period last year; Odyssey sales were 4,488 units, down 20.3% year-on-year.
In addition, new players who entered the mid-to-high-end MPV segment in the second half of last year, Toyota Xena and Hyundai Kustu also handed over a good report card. Among them, Toyota Syna's sales reached 5399 units in January this year, ranking fourth in the January MPV sales list, while the top model accounted for 40%. In addition to accelerating the delivery of orders accumulated in the early stage with the increase in production capacity, the rising sales volume of Xena in the month is related to its reduction or even cancellation of mark-ups in the terminal market.
Although the market performance of Hyundai Kustu is not as eye-catching as that of Toyota Syna, it has also stabilized at about 2,000 units for many consecutive months. In January this year, The Kustu sold 2,462 vehicles, a further increase in sales compared to December last year. However, Kia Jawa, which was listed at the same time as Kustur, has been performing dismal, with sales of only 306 units in January this year. Ka Wah's sluggish performance in the MPV market is not only affected by the recall at the end of 2021 due to the safety hazards of electric sliding doors, but also inseparable from factors such as Kia's declining brand influence and word-of-mouth effect in the Chinese market.
In the mid-to-high-end MPV market, in addition to the continuous increase in joint venture brands, independent brands are also accelerating the layout of this market segment and seeking new growth points for themselves. Among them, GAC Trumpchi became a dark horse in the mid-to-high-end MPV market last year, and the cumulative sales of its Trumpchi M8 and Trumpchi M6 MPV models achieved substantial growth and exceeded 100,000 units.
In January this year, the Trumpchi M6 ranked second only to the Buick GL8, with sales of 6311 units, an increase of 63.3% year-on-year. However, the Trumpchi M8 has experienced a decline in sales for two consecutive months, with January sales of only 2016 units, down 63.9% year-on-year. For the sudden sharp decline in sales of Trumpchi M8, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, believes that it may be related to the lack of production capacity caused by chip supply restrictions.
In addition, in order to get a piece of the high-end MPV market segment, including Lantu, Hongqi, Great Wall Weipai, Denza and Ji Krypton and other car companies will launch high-end MPV models this year, which also means that the long-dormant MPV market or will usher in a new round of outlet, while the competition in the high-end MPV segment will become more intense.
Attached: January 2022 MPV sales ranking
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