AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/19 Report--

During the Shanghai auto show, a number of auto executives said in an interview that due to the support and stimulation of government policies, China's auto market will resume growth in the second half of this year!

Among them, Feng Xingya, general manager of GAC GROUP, said: "We expect the automobile market to show negative growth or even double-digit negative growth in the first half of this year. But due to government subsidies, discounts from carmakers and a better macroeconomic environment, car sales growth will turn positive in the second half of the year. "

Mitsubishi Motors CEO Yoshiko believes that China's auto market is moving towards more balanced growth, especially if trade frictions between China and the United States are resolved.

Volkswagen's demand in China picked up in April, but full-year sales are likely to change little compared with 2018, said Juergen Stackmann, head of global sales at Volkswagen. Big CEO Herbert Diess said he was more optimistic about the second half of the year and was satisfied that Volkswagen's share in China had increased by about 1 per cent. In addition, Volkswagen expects the market to continue to grow in the next few years.

Makota Uchida, president of Nissan's Chinese joint venture, said China's overall auto market continued to decline in the first quarter of 2019, but could recover in the second half with the help of the government.

In addition to mainstream brands expressing optimistic views, some luxury brand supercar brands are also looking at this year's Chinese auto market.

Hubertus Troska, head of Daimler's China operations, said Mercedes-Benz sold quite well in China in the first quarter, with the S-Class Maybach selling 600 vehicles a month, indicating that demand from the rich has not been affected by the downturn in the industry as a whole.

Nicolas Peter, BMW's chief financial officer, predicts that the company's sales in china will grow by 5% and 10% this year, but he also thinks the overall car market will be the same as last year.

Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said Bentley expects "good growth" in China this year because inventory levels are very low and the brand has launched "a large number" of products.

McLaren CEO Michael Flewitt said the company's supercar sales this year will be the same as last year's 300 vehicles.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said that China will remain an important market and sales are bound to grow. At the same time, he also stressed that the company wants to maintain a regional balance to avoid relying too much on the single market.

As for the Chinese government's "policy to rescue the market", some car companies believe that it will put more pressure on some smaller non-state-owned car companies, even be integrated or delisted. Qian Huikang, president of GM China, said, "this is more likely to happen to smaller non-state-owned car companies, which actually do not have many models to offer." I don't think there will be a large number of car companies pulling out of the market. Because in the final analysis, China is still one of the most attractive markets in the world, and everyone wants to stay here. "

2018 is a watershed. China's car market has entered a cold winter, with annual car production and sales falling by 4.16% and 2.76%. This is also the first decline in China's car market in more than 20 years, but the situation is still not optimistic in 2019. Data show that a total of 5.2628 million domestic passenger cars were sold in the first quarter of this year, down 13.72% from the same period last year.

In the face of the continuous decline in China's car sales and the gradual decline in the trend of automobile consumption, the National Development and Reform Commission has long had plans to encourage automobile consumption. at the beginning of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and other ten ministries jointly issued the "implementation Plan for further optimizing supply, promoting steady consumption growth and promoting the formation of a strong domestic Market (2019)", putting forward six measures such as "promoting the upgrading of rural cars".

On April 1, the state formally adjusted the VAT rate, in which the manufacturing VAT tax rate was reduced from 16% to 13%. In response to the national VAT reform policy, a number of car companies have successively reduced the guidance prices of some or all of their models, and many brands have started activities to go to the countryside.

Recently, the Internet Development and Reform Commission issued the implementation Plan for promoting the Renewal of consumption of Automobile, Home Appliances and Consumer Electronic products to promote the Development of Circular economy (2019-2020) (draft for soliciting opinions), which plans to further expand the consumer market such as automobiles, promote the development of circular economy, and deepen supply-side structural reform. it is worth noting that it is mentioned in the "plan" that the purchase restrictions in cities will be gradually relaxed. The license plate target will be increased by 50% this year, and there will be no restrictions on the purchase of new energy vehicles. The restrictions on pickups are also expected to be relaxed.

The National Development and Reform Commission did not deny this rumor, responding that it was learning about the relevant situation, and that all policies had been repeatedly demonstrated and fully consulted by the parties concerned.

When the car market entered a cold winter last year, the sales of many car companies declined one after another, but at that time the country did not use policies to stimulate demand, and now all kinds of conditions show that in the face of the decline in the car market, the country seems to be going to do it again.

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