In mid-March, many places broke out again, many major domestic automobile towns (the National Bureau of Statistics of the provinces of the automobile production data show that the current round of epidemic impact is relatively large Shanghai and Jilin, each accounting for about 11% of the total number of national automobile production) have begun to carry out sealing management, some vehicle and related enterprises production once stagnated, tight production capacity coupled with logistics tension, inevitably affect the sales performance of various car companies.
The wholesale sales data released by the Association of Automobile Manufacturers a few days ago shows that in the past March, the domestic passenger car market has experienced a slight decline in sales, and in the next April, the overall car market may face greater market pressure. The forecast given by the Association shows that due to the long automotive industry chain, high coordination requirements, and wide range of suspension radiation of core production and logistics bases, the pressure on production and sales in the automobile market in April may be very large.
In March 2022, domestic automakers sold a total of 1.814 million new vehicles, down 1.6% year-on-year. Among them, the wholesale sales volume of the car market was 872,000 units, a slight decrease of 0.4% year-on-year. Judging from the specific performance of the best-selling models, the top ten domestic car sales lists in March are basically familiar faces, and the Japanese are still big winners, grabbing half of the places; the Germans are only left with one model of Langyi to support the façade; independent oil vehicles are also on the list of the only model - Yidong. In addition, Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, Tesla Model3 and Qin PLUS three new energy models lived up to expectations, once again working together to easily enter the best-selling list of the sedan market.
Wuling Hongguang MINIEV
Sales in March 2022: 47,563 units
Hongguang MINIEV, image source: SAIC-GM-Wuling
In the car market in March, the micro-electric vehicle Hongguang MINIEV can be described as a thriving, with a monthly sales of nearly 50,000 units, far ahead of the market segment. Obviously, the news of the price increase of the entire Hongguang MINIEV series in mid-to-late March did not have much impact on this new "god car". Previously, Wuling officially announced that due to the impact of comprehensive factors such as the continuous sharp rise in the price of upstream raw materials and the decline in subsidies, the official guidance price adjustment was made for its Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, Wuling NanoEV, Baojun KiWi EV and other models, of which the price of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV series after subsidies was between 3.28-49,800 yuan, and the price increase was between 4,000 and 4,200 yuan.
Toyota Corolla
Sales in March 2022: 28,984 units
Corolla, image source: FAW Toyota
After the replacement, Corolla uses the TNGA architecture, not only in the internal and external design of a full range of adjustments, can better cater to young consumers, in the hardware support is also more attentive, the rear suspension from the torque beam to the independent suspension, the active and passive safety configuration has also been improved. The improvement of product strength has boosted the market quite obviously, and after the replacement, Corolla has rarely been absent from the top ten list of car sales. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the Corolla and its brother model Ralink should be one of the few models in the current domestic market that have not caused sales collapse due to the three-cylinder engine. Previously, most other brands forced the three-cylinder model process: from the full series of three cylinders to the collapse of sales to have to reactivate the four-cylinder model, while Toyota's routine is to introduce the three-cylinder model while retaining the four-cylinder version, as far as possible to reduce the risk of market turmoil.
Nissan Xuanyi
Sales in March 2022: 28,557 units
Xuanyi, image source: Dongfeng Nissan
Since the 14th generation of Xuanyi was listed, the Xuanyi car series sold in the same hall between the new and old models has been a strong contender for the domestic car sales champion, at least it can retain the position of the top three. Especially in the southern region, Xuanyi's popularity is the best market segment. According to the distribution of Xuanyi terminal sales compiled by the Gestapo Automobile Research Institute, the top three cities in Xuanyi's national sales are all in Guangdong Province. The city with the highest sales volume in 2021 was Foshan, with a total of more than 18,000 vehicles sold, followed by Guangzhou and Dongguan with 17,000 units and 12,000 units, respectively.
Toyota Camry
Sales in March 2022: 27,211 units
Camry, image source: GAC Toyota
The good reputation in the domestic market and the amazing retention rate in the second-hand car market have jointly supported Camry's position in the domestic B-class car market. In real life, when the same level of models make choices, under the premise of sufficient budget, the final victory of the Camry will often be a high probability event. Especially after the new models have become more catered to younger consumers (the 2021 Camry has upgraded and strengthened the previously controversial places such as interiors, vehicles, configurations, etc.), camry has repeatedly won the monthly sales championship in the domestic B-class car segment.
Volkswagen Langyi
Sales in March 2022: 26,040 units
New Langyi, image source: SAIC Volkswagen
Langyi was once a national car, but with the completion of several Japanese cars of the same level and the strengthening of competitiveness, Langyi has not been involved in the car sales championship for many years. However, Langyi is also actively seeking change, and the latest mid-term change is very telling. The new Langyi has made great adjustments to the interior and exterior design, not only borrowing from the new Passat, bringing two different styles of front face styles, but also further lengthening the body size, and the interior has also followed the trend with a new suspension central control screen, and the sense of grade has been significantly improved. The new car was originally scheduled to be officially launched during the Beijing Auto Show in April, but due to the epidemic, the launch has been postponed to May. As for the market goal, it is also very clear that the status that once belonged to Langyi will be re-competed this time.
Tesla Model 3
Sales in March 2022: 26,024 units
Model3, image source: Tesla
In March, Model 3 is still the absolute king of the domestic high-end electric vehicle market, with a total of 26,000 cars sold, but the production capacity problem under the influence of the epidemic may affect Tesla's sales performance in the next period of time. Tesla's factory in Lingang, Shanghai, is a production base for the global market, and according to the convention, in the last month of each quarter, the capacity of Tesla's Shanghai factory will be prioritized for the domestic market. According to the sales data released by the Association, Tesla completed domestic sales of 65,184 vehicles in March under the premise of limited production capacity, an increase of 85% year-on-year. However, the corresponding export business is basically stagnant, Tesla China only exported 60 vehicles in March, as a comparison, in January and February this year, Tesla's Shanghai factory exports of 40,500 vehicles and 33,315 vehicles, respectively.
BYD Qin PLUS
Sales in March 2022: 22,942 units
Qin PLUS DM-i, image source: BYD
Qin PLUS has been listed for a full year, but until now, the production capacity is still climbing, but unlike our traditional understanding of new cars that require a period of preparation because of capacity allocation, Qin PLUS's production capacity is tight mainly because the market is too hot. In particular, the plug-and-mix version of the Model Qin PLUS DM-i, selling out of stock has become the norm. In order to cope with the strong demand in the current terminal market, BYD is also increasing the production capacity of the main sales models such as Qin PLUS, but due to the current domestic epidemic, the latest layout has not yet shown effect. However, it can be predicted that when the daily production and life in China return to normal, Qin PLUS may also bring greater market surprises.
Honda Accord
Sales in March 2022: 20,667 units
Accord, image source: Guangqi Honda
In the face of the strong camry after the replacement, the B-class car market, the Accord should be one of the few models that can still break the wrist. The tenth generation of Accord has also brought more catering to the preferences of young people's interior and exterior design, and more importantly, the reputation and strength of Accord in terms of power performance can also be described as the only one in the same level of competition, which can cater to the needs of young people after 85 and 90. In fact, when the Accord remodeled model was launched in the middle of last year, the newly launched night version of the model once again appeared to be sold at a higher price, which was sought after by young consumers.
Toyota Ralink
Sales in March 2022: 19,977 units
Leiling, image source: GAC Toyota
Thanks to the excellent performance of the hybrid model, Leiling returned to the top ten list of car sales after two months. All along, Leiling has been the leader in the domestic hybrid car market (at the end of last year, Leiling Hybrid had handed over sales data of more than 10,000 vehicles), and in March, the Leiling hybrid version sold a total of 7501 vehicles, once again championing the domestic hybrid car market. At present, an important background in the industry is that the domestic hybrid car market is entering a period of rapid development, not only the Japanese brands that have always been known for their hybrid systems, after entering 2021, mainstream independent car companies such as Great Wall, Geely, and Changan are also making every effort to attack the hybrid market. It is foreseeable that in the future, the dispute in the hybrid market will be the highlight of the domestic automobile market.
Chang'an is moving
Sales in March 2022: 18,732 units
Yidong, image source: Changan Automobile
After adding the plus suffix, Changan products can often regain market vitality, such as the CS75 car series and the Yidong car system. Before the listing of Yidong PLUS, Yidong Car Series has never been among the top ten list of car sales in the car market, and after the listing of Yidong PLUS, Yidong Car Series has been listed on the list many times. The reason is that on the one hand, Changan Automobile is properly marketed; on the other hand, it has to be said that the product strength of Yidong PLUS has indeed improved a lot, and the more radical internal and external design, Changan's current main blue whale power, etc. are all plus points, coupled with a more competitive price, Yidong PLUS has finally ushered in its own market outbreak.