Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com
From the Top20 Manufacturers in China, only 3 of them delivered more vehicles in January than in December 2021: Chery, SAIC Motor and Beijing Benz. And there are many reasons for that: January and February are usually the off-season sales; many EV manufacturers announced the price raising for 2022; the subsidy cut and the usual end of the year push to complete sales target.
The Chinese leader BYD sold less 18,000 vehicles in January than in December 2021, representing a decrease of 19.20%. The 72.10% decrease from Tesla is easy to justify because, according to Elon Musk, Giga Shangai tends to focus on exports in the first half of each quarter before focusing its output on the domestic Chinese market in the second half. The factory has been producing at an impressive rate with recently two batches of around 7,000 vehicles each, were seen ready to export. That said, it is only relevant to compare Tesla sales/ deliveries numbers Quarter-by-Quarter.
Why that happened?
1. In order to complete the annual sales target, it is common to see manufacturers impulsing sales during the last months of the year. It also applies to the last month of each quarter.
2. In 2021, Chinese Government announced the reduction of the subsidy for new energy vehicles (NEV) by 30% starting this year. That said plus the high inflation seen on many countries, many manufacturers announce increases on the prices (such as Tesla, BYD and Xpeng), prompting willing consumers to make purchases before year end.
3. Judging from the sales trend of new energy vehicles over the years, January and February are the off-season sales, especially February (affected by the Spring Festival Holiday) is the trough of annual sales, and it usually begins to pick up in March.
ICCS asked Xpeng PR Department about this facts: “Based on the continuously rising orders in hand and the annual growth expectation, Xpeng Motors carried out technical transformation on the Xpeng production base during the Spring Festival shutdown from the end of January to the beginning of February. After the technical transformation is completed, it will be brought into the larger number of orders on hand and is expected to accelerate delivery in 2022.”
Why did SAIC Motor, Chery and Beijing Benz increased their sales?
Mercedes Benz released last November, during the Guangzhou Auto Show, the EQB Model being this new product a natural increase factor for sales’ growth. Also SAIC Motors launched a new model recently that costs 59,900 yuan (~US$8,440) after subsidy in the Chinese market. The new products always bring a jump on the sales numbers being an important factor to keep this MoM sales positive during the weaker months on the Chinese Market.
According to ICCSINO, that cited data from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, the terminal sales of Beijing Benz was 11,563 in 2021, of which 2,503 was sold in December. In January, Beijing Benz sold 3,637 vehicles, up 46.8% MoM. Mercedes-Benz EQB sold 202 units, up 274.1% MoM; Mercedes-Benz E 350 e L PHEV was sold 2,766 units, up 86.9% MoM; Mercedes-Benz EQA was sold 257 units, up 68% MoM.
The Beijing Benz EQB was officially launched at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November last year, with a price of 437,800 yuan. The new car adopts the latest family-style design, and the biggest highlight is the 7-seat layout. It is also normal for Mercedes-Benz EQB orders, which have only been on the market for 2 months, to be gradually released. The 2022 Mercedes-Benz E 350 e L PHEV was launched at the Shanghai Auto Show last year, priced at 521,900 yuan. Due to the brand of Mercedes-Benz, this plug-in hybrid car sells relatively well in China. In foreign countries, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has stopped taking orders due to the booming sales.
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class may be officially unveiled in the first half of 2023, followed by Beijing Benz will also be made in China. The Mercedes-Benz EQC 350 4MATIC special edition was launched a few days ago at a price of 509,800 yuan. The launch of the new car will help Beijing Benz’s sales hit a new high.
SAIC’s passenger vehicle terminal sales in January were 10,398 units, up 8.2% from the previous month. CLEVER was sold 5,351 units, up 73.6% MoM; Roewe RX5 eMAX was sold 331 units, up 81.9% MoM.
At the end of 2021, the all-new Roewe RX5 eMAX will be launched, and three models will be launched. The subsidized price range is 169,800-189,800 yuan. We believe that the reason for the increase in SAIC passenger cars is the launch of new models and the increase in sales of the main model, the CLEVER.
In January, Chery’s new energy terminal sales were 13,983 units, up 4% from the previous month. As the biggest competitor of Hongguang MINI, Chery QQ ice cream has achieved terminal sales of 7,517 units in February alone, up 83.7% MoM, and the future can be expected.
A few days ago, Chery New Energy announced that the special edition of Chery QQ ice cream – Peach Tao Huanxi will be launched in the second quarter of 2022. The launch of new models further enriched Chery New Energy’s product lineup and contributed to its sales growth., ICC said.
BYD sold 95,180 passenger vehicles in January 2022, up 126.1% year on year (YoY), with NEV sales up 367.6% to 92,926 units. The automaker sold 46,386 pure electric vehicles in January, up 220.7%. DM models sold 46,540 units, up 760.6%, thanks, BYD said, “to its advanced DM-i super hybrid technology”.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) announced that Automotive sales in China rose 0.9% in January from a year earlier, representing their first motnhly increase after eight consecutive months of declines. New Energy Vehicles sales reached 431,000 units in January, a 135% increase YoY but a decrease of 18.6% MoM. Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, Xpeng and Nio sold a total of 121,000 electric vehicles in January, representing a 170% increase YoY.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com