AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/03 Report--

Retail sales in the passenger car market in January 2024 were 2.035 million, up 57.4% from a year earlier and down 13.9% from a month earlier, according to the Federation of passengers. Among the subdivided models, car sales in January were 905000, up 48.6 per cent from a year earlier, accounting for 44.47 per cent of all passenger car sales. Among them, according to the January top10 list of medium-sized sedan sales counted by Automotive Industry concern, there were more than 10,000 models sold in January, namely, Passat, Maiteng, Camry, Accord, Red Flag H5, BMW 3-Series, Regal, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Wuling Xingguang PHEV.

The ranking of the top 10 models on the January list has changed dramatically compared with December 2023. For comparison, the top 10 midsize cars on the December list are Maiteng, Passat, Camry, Accord, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Model 3, Red Flag H5, Audi A4L, Teana and Asian Dragon.

According to the latest retail list, the Camry, which has perennially topped the list of midsize cars, has been replaced by Passat and Maiteng, falling to third place, with sales of 15456 vehicles in January, down 31.88 per cent from the previous month. According to plans, the new Camry will go public in March this year. The new Camry, built on the TNGA-K platform, is now on pre-sale, with a total of nine models, including four gasoline versions and four electric hybrid engines, with a pre-price of 17.38-199900 yuan for gasoline and 18.18-208800 yuan for hybrid engines. As a reference, the price range of 2023 Camry gasoline version 2.0L is 17.98-205800 yuan.

Retail sales of Accord, which is also one of the top three in Japan, fell 31.79% to 15456 vehicles in January from the previous month. Teana has fallen off the list of top10, with sales of 8198.

Judging from the overall list, both Maiteng and Passat had good sales in January. Among them, the Passat was the only model on the list that sold more than 20, 000 vehicles, with sales of 22313, followed by Passat, with 16593.

SAIC-Volkswagen Passat and FAW-Volkswagen Maiteng are sister models to each other. As classic models of medium-sized cars, they mainly compete with Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and other medium-sized cars in the car market. Passat won the B-Class sales in 2016 and 2019, while Maiteng won the B-Class sales in 2017 and 2018, with annual sales of more than 200000 vehicles, respectively. Passat and Maiteng's market position has also been shaken to some extent with the rise of their own brands.

Retail data show that the Camry, Passat and Maiteng ranked in the top three of the list of medium-sized cars in 2023, with sales of 225500, 191000 and 189400 respectively, of which in December 2023, the Camry, which is always at the top of the list, has been replaced by Mai Teng and Passat, falling to third place on the list, with sales of 22700 vehicles in December. The numbers for Maiteng and Passat are 27800 and 24600 respectively.

At present, the declaration map of the new generation Maiteng model has appeared in the declaration catalogue. As a new generation of models, the new car adjusts the appearance and interior and carries a 2.0T engine on the power.

Red Flag H5 entered the top five in January and ranked fifth with retail sales of 14865 vehicles, making it the only self-branded model on the list of Top10. Unlike other Red Flag models, the Red Flag H5 is targeted at a younger group and has become the representative of an independent medium-sized sedan because of its relatively friendly price, which currently ranges from 15.98 yuan to 225800 yuan.

In the BBA luxury brand camp, the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class ranked 6th and 8th respectively in January, with sales of 14811 and 10300 respectively. Audi A4L was the only one of the three BBA models that fell out of the top 10, with sales of 9889 in January, down 31.48 per cent from the previous month.

In addition to the above models, Regal, Wuling Xingguang PHEV and Model 3 also entered the list top10, of which Wuling Xingguang PHEV retail sales of 10103 vehicles, ranking ninth on the list. It is understood that Wuling Xingguang is the first new energy car of the Wuling brand. It went on sale on December 6, 2023, and launched two versions of CLTC integrated mileage 150km and 70km, with prices of 105800 yuan and 88800 yuan respectively. In the car market, it mainly competes with BYD Qin PLUS DM-i (9.98-145800 yuan), Geely Galaxy L6 (11.58-149800 yuan), Chang'an Qiyuan A05 (8.99-132900 yuan) and other models.

As one of the brands that are best at building popular models, can the listing of Wuling Xingguang become another popular car of SAIC GM Wuling? Judging from the retail sales in January, the car does have the potential of a popular style. of course, as the new car has just been launched, it will take more time and the market to verify whether consumers are willing to pay for it in the future.

Since 2024, the price war in the domestic car market will continue, coupled with the replacement of Camry and Maiteng models, it is expected that the competition in the medium-sized car market will be more fierce.

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