AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/09 Report--

Since April 1, the state has officially adjusted the value-added tax rate. The manufacturing value-added tax rate of 16% has been reduced to 13%. In response to the national value-added tax reform policy, many automobile enterprises have already implemented price cuts ahead of schedule in March. In the past March, some manufacturers have also seized hot spots to start automobile publicity work in rural areas to promote sales growth. However, the overall increase is still not obvious. The latest data show that China's passenger car sales fell by 12.1% year-on-year in March. It is the 10th consecutive month of year-on-year decline.

According to the latest comprehensive sales statistics released by the Passenger Association, the domestic passenger car market sold 1.740 million vehicles in March, down 12.1% year-on-year and up 48.2% month-on-month. In the first quarter of this year, the domestic automobile sales accumulated 5.077 million vehicles, down 10.5% year-on-year.

In terms of classification, 857285 cars were sold in March, down 12.0% year-on-year, SUV sales were 835002, down 10.7% year-on-year, and MPV sales were 147748, down 20.2% year-on-year. In March, the automobile market continued to differentiate, among which luxury cars grew by 7.5%, mainstream joint venture brands decreased by 12.3%, and independent brands decreased by 15.7%.

At the same time, the association also counted the sales volume of domestic big car enterprises, North and South Volkswagen is still firmly in the top two, Japanese brand performance is very good, calm down the "throttle" Dongfeng Honda sales in March achieved 50.7% growth, overall in the top ten sales list of the month, there are more than half of the car enterprises appeared decline, but compared with February, the situation has improved. It is worth noting that the luxury car market continues to have high sales, with Brilliance BMW and Beijing Mercedes-Benz both in the top 15, while Beijing Hyundai fell more than 15.

In March, SAIC Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen are the only automobile enterprises with monthly sales volume of more than 150,000 vehicles. The brands sold by the two automobile enterprises include Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi. In the future, FAW-Volkswagen low-cost car brand-Jetta will also join the camp, and SAIC Volkswagen will also introduce Audi for domestic production. Volkswagen has stated that it regards China as the core of the Group's future, with CEO Diss leading the China business and further expanding the Chinese market.

In third place was SAIC GM, which sold about 120,000 vehicles in March, down 24%, widening the gap with Volkswagen sales. SAIC GM has three brands, Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac. The weak sales reflect the overall market downturn and are also related to GM's move to popularize three-cylinder engines.

On the whole list, SAIC GM Wuling is the brand with the biggest decline, with a decline of 49% in the month. At present, the domestic MPV market gradually shrinks, while Baojun Automobile gradually approaches SUV and mainstream market. SAIC GM Wuling has declined sharply for many consecutive months.

China's automobile market as a whole is depressed, but Japanese brands as a whole have achieved counter-trend growth. In addition to FAW Toyota, Dongfeng Nissan, GAC Honda, Dongfeng Honda and GAC Toyota, four automobile enterprises have achieved different degrees of growth. FAW Toyota sales fell 7.8% year-on-year in March, mainly related to the decline in sales of main models, among which Corolla sales fell 13.5% in the month.

In terms of self-owned brands, Geely Automobile showed signs of recovery, with sales falling 2.3% year-on-year in March, ranking fourth on the list with 116689 vehicles. Great Wall Motor performed very well. After achieving year-on-year growth in January and February this year, sales in March still increased by 16.7%. So far, Great Wall Motor sold 283842 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, achieving 23.65% of the sales target of 1.2 million vehicles in 2019. In addition, thanks to the growth of new energy sources, BYD just squeezed into the top 15, with monthly sales of 45188 vehicles, while Chang 'an Automobile continued to decline seriously, with monthly sales falling by more than 20%.

Since the second half of 2018, China's auto market has encountered a cold wave, and the situation has not changed into 2019. According to the data released by the Passenger Association, retail sales of generalized passenger cars in China fell by 12% in March, which is also the 10th consecutive month of year-on-year decline. Auto sales declined, manufacturers and dealers operating pressure also increased, as of March this year, dealer inventory index has exceeded the warning line for 15 consecutive months.

Market competition intensified, the survival status of dealers did not change much, inventory is still at a high level. According to the March dealer report released by the China Automobile Circulation Association, the inventory warning index of automobile dealers in March was 55.3%, down 8.3% month-on-month and up 3.2% year-on-year. The inventory warning index is still above the warning line.

For this reason, China Automobile Circulation Association has conducted a large-scale survival survey on dealers nationwide. Recently, the Association issued the Notice on Carrying out the Investigation on the Survival Status and Business Environment of Automobile Circulation Enterprises in 2018, which is based on the great changes in the industry environment and is related to the survival of enterprises in the development of the industry.

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