Domestic carmakers face rivalry, slow sales
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 12, 2012
Chinese auto brands are struggling to catch up with their foreign rivals amid slower growth in the market, and competition is set to get keener as automakers race to boost sales.
China's auto sales, including passenger cars and commercial vehicles, grew 9.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.6 million units in June, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a report yesterday.
The growth, which eased from the 16 percent surge in May, brought the sales in the first half of this year to 9.6 million units, up just 2.9 percent from a year earlier.
Deliveries of passenger vehicles, including multi-purpose and sport-utility vehicles, jumped 15.8 percent year on year to 1.3 million units in June. This figure included 499,400 units made by domestic brands, an annual rise of 11.8 percent.
"Though indigenous brands have improved their overall competitiveness, they are still no match for the foreign nameplates," the report said.
It further noted that as growth in the market is stabilizing, "the game is getting (more) intense" for the domestic carmakers.
The passenger car sales of home-grown automakers shed 0.2 percent to 3.2 million units in the first half of this year, trailing the overall 7 percent growth in this segment. Their market share reversed 3 percentage points year on year to 41.4 percent.
In the sedan sector, domestic carmakers sold 1.4 million units, a decline of 6.8 percent, in the first six months. They took up 27.2 percent share, down 3.6 percentage points.
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