【March 2022 Automobile Sales Express】Affected by the spread of the epidemic in some parts of The country, the sales volume of the domestic passenger car market declined in March this year. According to the data released by the Association of Passenger Vehicles on April 11, 2022, the retail sales of the domestic narrow passenger car market in March 2022 fell by 10.5% year-on-year and increased by 25.6% month-on-month; the wholesale sales volume of the passenger car market fell by 1.6% year-on-year and increased by 23.6% month-on-month.
Retail sales in the domestic narrow passenger car market in March were 1.579 million units, down 10.5% year-on-year from 1.764 million units in the same period last year, and up 25.6% month-on-month compared to 1.258 million units in February, the data showed. Among them, the retail sales of the sedan market were 765,000 units, down 12.0% year-on-year and 27.1% month-on-month; the retail sales of the MPV market were 72,000 units, down 33.2% year-on-year, up 8.2% month-on-month; and the retail sales of the SUV market were 742,000 units, down 5.6% year-on-year and 25.9% month-on-month.
From January to March this year, the cumulative retail sales of the domestic narrow passenger car market were 4.915 million units, down 4.5% year-on-year, from positive growth in the previous two months to negative growth. Among them, the cumulative retail sales of the sedan market were 2.368 million units, down 5.3% year-on-year; the cumulative retail sales of the MPV market were 239,000 units, down 16.3% year-on-year; and the cumulative retail sales of the SUV market were 2.308 million units, down 2.3% year-on-year.
In terms of wholesale sales, the narrow passenger car market sold 1.814 million units in March, down 1.6% year-on-year and up 23.6% from February. Among them, the wholesale sales of sedans reached 872,000 units, a slight decrease of 0.4% year-on-year, an increase of 26.8% month-on-month; the wholesale sales of the MPV market were 73,000 units, down 23.4% year-on-year, an increase of 37.1% month-on-month; the wholesale sales of the SUV market were 870,000 units, down 0.4% year-on-year and 19.7% month-on-month.
From January to March 2022, the domestic narrow passenger car market had accumulated wholesale sales of 5.439 million units, an increase of 8.3% year-on-year. Among them, the cumulative wholesale sales of the sedan market were 2.584 million units, an increase of 8.2% year-on-year; the cumulative wholesale sales of the MPV market were 208,000 units, down 9.0% year-on-year; and the cumulative sales of the SUV market were 2.647 million units, an increase of 10.0% year-on-year.
Although affected by subsidies and price increases, new energy vehicles still maintained a significant growth momentum in March. According to the data, the retail sales of new energy passenger cars in March were 445,000 units, an increase of 137.6% year-on-year and 63.1% month-on-month. From January to March 2022, the cumulative retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles were 1.070 million units, an increase of 146.6% year-on-year.
In March, the retail sales of independent brand passenger cars reached 750,000 units, an increase of 17% year-on-year, an increase of 37% month-on-month, and the share of the domestic retail market reached 48.2%, an increase of 11.5 percentage points over the same period last year. Independent brands have gained significant increments in the new energy vehicle market, and traditional car brands such as Changan and BYD have increased significantly year-on-year.
In March, the retail sales of mainstream joint venture brands were 590,000 units, down 30% year-on-year and 9% sequentially. Among them, the retail share of Japanese brands was 20%, a year-on-year decrease of 3 percentage points; the retail share of German brands was 18%, a year-on-year decrease of 7 percentage points. The U.S. market share was 10%, down 0.5 percentage points year-on-year, while the market share of French cars increased by 0.3 percentage points.
Luxury brands also saw a decline in March sales, with retail sales of just 230,000 units, down 14 percent year-on-year and up 43 percent month-on-month.
In March, independent car companies performed well, and among the top ten car companies in automobile sales, independent brands accounted for half of the country, and three car companies entered the top four in sales. The top 10 automakers in terms of retail sales in March were: FAW-Volkswagen, Changan Automobile, BYD Automobile, Geely Automobile, GAC Toyota, SAIC-Volkswagen, Great Wall Motor, SAIC-GM-Wuling, SAIC-GM and Dongfeng Nissan.
In terms of wholesale sales, the top 10 automakers in wholesale sales in March were Changan Automobile, FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen, BYD Automobile, Geely Automobile, GAC Toyota, SAIC-GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Great Wall Motor and GUANGC Honda, and Changan Automobile ranked first in wholesale sales of car companies with sales of 132,000 units. (Source/Multiplying Association)