AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)06/04 Report--

Since the resumption of normal operations in March, major car companies have accelerated the recovery of production capacity and the operation of sales operations to make up for the performance losses during the epidemic. Recently, Japanese automakers Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda were the first to report sales in China in May. According to the data, the four automakers showed different trends.

Toyota China: 166300 vehicles sold in China in May

According to Toyota China, sales in China in May were 166300, up 20.1 per cent from a year earlier. At present, Toyota's sales in China have returned to the level of the same period last year, coupled with the effective implementation of major favorable policies, Toyota's sales in China in May has shown double-digit year-on-year growth.

Toyota's sales in China bucked the trend in 2019, with a cumulative increase of 9% to 1.62 million vehicles. In 2020, Toyota's sales in China fell 1.2% in the first month due to traditional holidays, and fell sharply in February and March due to the epidemic. It fell by 70.2% and 15.9% respectively, benefiting from the normal business of dealers and the opening of marketing activities in April. Toyota's sales edged up 0.2 per cent to 142900 vehicles for the month, the first increase in three months.

According to Toyota's product plan, in addition to the already listed Wiranda, C-HR EV, Lexus UX300e, Toyota will also launch a new generation of Hanlanda, new Carola / Rayling, Rav4 Rongfang PHEV and so on. Toyota had previously set a sales target of 1.76 million vehicles in China in 2020, which has not been adjusted.

Nissan China: sales in China rose 6.7% in May

Nissan's sales in China rose 6.7 per cent to 130016 vehicles in May and fell 21.8 per cent to 459413 vehicles from January to May, according to data released by Nissan China.

Both Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Co., Ltd. achieved positive growth. Of these, Dongfeng Co., Ltd. and Dongfeng Nissan sold 105362 and 97651 vehicles in May, up 4.8 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively. Nissan's sales in China have been boosted by models such as Nissan's Xuanyi and the seventh generation Teana.

In China, the largest market for Nissan, daily production and sales fell 1.1 per cent to 1.54 million vehicles in 2019 against the backdrop of the overall decline in the Chinese car market. Although the 1.1% decline was not significant, it did not perform well with Toyota and Honda.

Nissan has been in turmoil since Ghosn's arrest in 2018, and the outbreak has brought irreparable losses to Nissan. The sudden drop in demand for new cars, dealer closures, factory shutdowns and supply chain disruptions have brought uncertainty to Nissan's development. As a result, under the effective control of the domestic epidemic, Nissan's sales in China are still growing at a relatively low rate, but there has been a marked improvement compared with last month.

A few days ago, Nissan officially released a new four-year plan, Nissan will focus on the development of the Chinese market. In terms of Nissan's global market, only China can provide more stable car sales.

Mazda China: four Japanese brands have the biggest increase

According to the latest sales figures released by Mazda China on June 3, Mazda's sales in China rose 31.64% to 22886 vehicles in May 2020, with FAW Mazda selling 10280 vehicles and Chang'an Mazda selling 12606 vehicles. In addition, sales from January to May fell 12.03 per cent to 76328, with FAW Mazda selling 31457 and Changan Mazda selling 44871.

After resuming growth in April, Mazda's sales rose again in May, with the biggest increase among the four major Japanese brands. In terms of specific models, Mazda 6 Atez and CX-4 sold 4021 and 6258 vehicles respectively in May, while Unksera and CX-5 sold 8545 and 3682 vehicles respectively.

On May 28th, Changan Mazda CX-30 launched a total of 8 models with 2.0L naturally aspirated power, with a price of 12.99-171900 yuan. From the feedback point of view, netizens' evaluation of this car is relatively pertinent. Under the premise of reasonable price, coupled with appropriate marketing and terminal concessions, Mazda may become the main model of new sales and restore its lacklustre performance in China.

Honda China: the only one of the four Japanese brands in decline

Honda's sales in China fell 1.7 per cent to 134230 vehicles in May, according to official Honda Chinese figures. Of this total, Guangzhou Auto Honda's sales rose 0.1 per cent to 68696 vehicles in May, while Dongfeng Honda sales fell 3.4 per cent to 65534 vehicles.

Affected by the epidemic, Honda's cumulative sales in China fell 21.3% to 335414 vehicles from January to May. Among them, Guangzhou Auto Honda sales fell 22.8 per cent to 243445 vehicles, Dongfeng Honda cumulative sales fell 19.7 per cent to 226199 vehicles.

In terms of sales data, although the 1.7% decline is not significant, it makes Honda the only one of the four major Japanese brands to decline. The reason for the decline in Honda's sales in China in May is still because Dongfeng Honda suffered a huge blow during the epidemic. Although production and operation resumed one after another in mid-March, the impact of the epidemic continued. Dongfeng Honda still showed a downward trend after Guangzhou Automobile Honda returned to the level of the same period last year, and sales are expected to return to the same level next month.

According to the product plan, Honda will launch a number of new cars in China, of which the new Dongfeng Honda UR-V will be officially launched on June 5, and the Dongfeng Honda Civic hatchback version will be officially launched in the third quarter of this year. The GAC Honda Lingpai hybrid, which will be officially launched in June, is equipped with a hybrid system consisting of a 1.5L Atkinson cycle engine and dual motors, while the new generation of GAC Honda Fido is expected to go on sale in August.

Overall, among the four major Japanese brands, Toyota's sales in China are far ahead of other brands, while daily production and sales are still growing at a low rate, while Mazda and Honda show a completely different trend. Mazda had the biggest increase in sales in China in May. Honda became the only brand with declining sales.

China's auto market will have a decline in sales for three consecutive years, and the importance of brand survival will be highlighted under the stock competition. China's auto market will also usher in an important period of brand differentiation, and the market concentration will continue to increase. As far as Japanese brands are concerned, sales in May have gradually returned to the level of the same period last year, and even achieved double-digit year-on-year growth. Due to the sharp decline in sales in previous months, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the completion rate of Japanese brands' sales targets in China.

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