Author | Jia Weizhong
Source | Car selection network
——Analysis of the SUV market economy index in the first quarter of 2022
In the first quarter, the sales volume and share of Chinese brand passenger cars rose sharply. Among them, local cars have seized the opportunity of the outbreak of low-end consumer groups' transportation demand, and Chinese brand SUVs have won 40% of the market share in the high-end market, achieving a historic breakthrough.
Mid-to-high-end passenger cars look at SUVs
In the first quarter, the passenger car market was uneven in heat and cold, low-end consumption was concentrated in the field of cars, and mid-to-high-end car purchase demand broke out in the SUV market.
Statistical analysis from Beijing Regular Dacheng shows that the cumulative market size of SUV in the first quarter of 2022 was 509.53 billion yuan, an increase of 11.9% year-on-year; the regular SUV market size index (cumulative) was 13491.9 points, up 1434.2 points from the same period last year, indicating a sharp increase in consumption power. In the first quarter, the average price (cumulative) of SUV market sales reached 194,000 yuan, up 0.4 million yuan over the same period last year; the cumulative price index of regular SUV was 106.6 points, up 2.4 points from the same period last year, indicating a slight increase in consumption levels.
From the perspective of market segmentation, the structural imbalance in SUV demand is the direct cause of the sharp rise in SUV consumption capacity and the slight increase in consumption level. According to the association data, the cumulative sales of SUVs in the first quarter were 2.627 million units, an increase of 9.4% year-on-year. Among them, the sales of high-end SUVs above 200,000 yuan were 1.056 million units, an increase of 11.1% year-on-year; the sales of mid-range SUVs of 100,000-190,000 yuan were 1.196 million units, an increase of 14.3% year-on-year; and the sales of low-end SUVs of 90,000 yuan and below were 376,000 units, an increase of -7.3% year-on-year.
Overall, the sharp rise in demand for high-end SUVs in the first quarter has promoted the expansion of the SUV market, while low-end SUV sales have been diverted by low-end cars, which has reduced the average sales price of SUV markets to a certain extent. In other words, this year's market demand for high-end passenger cars is mainly concentrated in the field of SUVs, which will be an important source of profit for Chinese and foreign car brand manufacturers.
Chinese brand SUVs launched a counter-offensive
In the first quarter, local cars stole the limelight of German cars. At the same time, Chinese brand SUVs began to counterattack, recovering part of the market that was seized by German and Japanese SUVs.
Chinese brand SUVs achieved double growth in sales and share in the first quarter. According to statistics, the cumulative sales of Chinese brand SUVs in the first quarter were 1.446 million units, an increase of 14.7% year-on-year. The market share of Chinese brands reached 55.0%, up 2.6 percentage points year-on-year.
At the same time, asthe sales of German SUVs increased slightly, Japanese SUV sales fell, and the market share of German and Japanese SUVs declined to varying degrees. Statistics show that in the first quarter, German SUV sales were 413,000 units, an increase of 4.3% year-on-year; Japanese SUVs sold 474,000 units, an increase of -2.8%; German and Japanese SUV market share was 15.7% and 18.1%, down 0.8 and 2.3 percentage points respectively compared with the same period last year.
Many years ago, the price of foreign brand cars continued to decline, forcing Chinese brands to turn to the SUV market, driven by low-end car purchase demand, the overall market share of local SUVs remained above 60% for many years. In the past five years, foreign brands represented by German and Japanese have increased the intensity of SUV products, under the pressure of huge competition, the market share of Chinese brand SUVs has declined year by year, what are the characteristics of this local SUV to open a counter-offensive market?
Local mid-to-high-end SUVs are working together
Unlike chinese brands that relied on low-end SUVs to open up the market many years ago, in the first quarter of this year, Chinese brand SUVs made breakthroughs and significantly expanded their achievements in the B-class and C-class SUV markets.
On the one hand, the share of Chinese brand SUVs in the A-segment market is more stable. Statistics show that the cumulative sales of local A-class SUVs in the first quarter were 906,000 units, up 8.9% year-on-year. The market share rose by 3 percentage points to 62.9%. This is the Chinese brand A-class SUV after the share fell below 60% in the first quarter of last year, regaining lost ground.
On the other hand, Chinese brand B-class and C-class SUVs have collectively broken through upwards. Statistics show that in the first quarter, the cumulative sales of local B-class and C-class SUVs totaled 337,000 units, up 40.8% year-on-year, and the market share rose by 3.8 percentage points year-on-year, a historic breakthrough of 40%.
It is worth noting that unlike one or two local car companies in the past who launched high-end SUVs and advertised "breaking the price ceiling", this time Chinese brands have made a joint upward breakthrough that has been verified by the market. Specifically, in the high-end high-priced car market of more than 300,000 yuan, bydir and some "new forces" car manufacturers in the first quarter, new energy vehicles have achieved good results of monthly sales of more than 10,000 vehicles. At the same time, from Geely, Changan, Great Wall, Hongqi and other traditional car companies, Such as Xingyue, UNI-K, Tank 300, Hongqi HS5, Lynk & Co 09 and other products, the average market sales price covers the range of 170,000 yuan - 290,000 yuan, which has been recognized by consumers. In short, this year, the overall momentum of Chinese brands' high-end SUVs has become more fierce, and it has seized a place in the high-end SUV market where foreign brands gather.
The slight increase in overall passenger car sales in the first quarter reflects the sluggish consumer demand for automobiles at the beginning of this year. In this case, the Chinese brand sedan seized the opportunity of the expansion of the demand for transportation of low-end consumer groups, and the Chinese brand SUVs have made an upward breakthrough to expand the high-end market share while stabilizing the mid-end market, indicating that the overall level of Chinese brand cars has improved significantly.
However, it should be noted that the market share of Chinese brand cars rose in the first quarter, and there were also factors that caused insufficient supply due to the suspension of work and production by foreign brands due to the epidemic and chip shortage. Therefore, with the improvement of the situation, the German-Japanese brand will increase its product launch efforts, and the challenges faced by Chinese brands after the high-end SUV have made a historic breakthrough.
(Image source: Internet)