AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)07/13 Report--

China's auto market remains in the doldrums, but luxury cars are on their own to achieve reverse growth, which has become a major topic in the auto industry in 2019. Although luxury cars as a whole maintain an upward trend, there is also a phenomenon of polarization. Several top brands in the first and second lines all have varying degrees of sales growth, while most of the luxury brands in the lower rankings are in the stage of decline.

Specific rankings were also released as major brands announced their results for the first half of June. In the front-line formation, BMW not only won the monthly championship, but also surpassed Mercedes-Benz to win the first place of the luxury brand in the first half of the year. Audi fell from the top to the third place.

BMW maintained its growth momentum in 2019 and finally overtook Mercedes-Benz to win the championship and get rid of the title of second place all the year round. In June, BMW sold 61564 new cars in China, up 20.9% from the same period last year. In the first half of the year, BMW sold 350070 new cars, up 16.8% from the same period last year. The gap with Mercedes-Benz is only more than 5000, and the competition is fierce.

In terms of specific models, BMW 5-Series and 3-Series delivered more than 75000 units in the first half of the year, while BMW X1 and X3 delivered 48000 and 58000 units respectively. In addition, in terms of new products, the new generation of domestic BMW 3-Series has been officially listed with a price of 31.39-363900 yuan, which is expected to further increase sales. BMW X7, X5, 7 series and other imported models have also completed the update of the product line.

Mercedes-Benz sales stopped falling in June, but anaemic growth did not improve. Mercedes-Benz (including the smart brand) sold 57018 vehicles in China in June, roughly the same as a year earlier, with a cumulative sales of 344657 vehicles from January to June, up 1.3 per cent from a year earlier.

In terms of specific models, domestic Mercedes-Benz A-class long-wheelbase version sold more than 30, 000 vehicles in the first half of the year, 77000 E-class cars, and 80, 000 C-class models in the medium term. For SUV, Mercedes-Benz GLC sold 66842 vehicles in the first half, while compact SUV GLA sales fell to just 23000.

Two major quality incidents occurred at Mercedes-Benz in the first half of the year. The female owner of Xi'an Mercedes-Benz attracted attention because of the oil leak and finally confirmed that it was a car with assembly defects. In May, Mercedes-Benz also filed a recall plan with the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration, announcing a recall of 570000 Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class cars. The front shock absorber may have broken, and the recall is almost the total sales of Mercedes-Benz in the past year.

Audi's growth was also sluggish, thanks to a sprint in June and year-on-year growth in the first half of the year. Audi sold 58788 vehicles in China in June, up 22.5 per cent from a year earlier, a total of 311871 vehicles from January to June, a year-on-year increase of 2.1 per cent.

After Audi lost the aura of the official car, the sales performance of the new cars was also very mediocre, including the pillar models Audi A6L and Q5L, which fell in the first half of the year and lagged behind their competitors. Audi stalled, if there is no downward room for market discounts, sales are expected to remain depressed.

Second-tier luxury brands focus mainly on Cadillac and Lexus. Thanks to the sprint of sales in June, Cadillac sold more than 20, 000 units in June, up 51.5% from a year earlier, and continued to take the lead with 114600 in the first half of the year. Due to the price "collapse" effect, the adverse impact on the Cadillac brand will continue, and the second half of the year will be more difficult.

Lexus is a special brand with firm price cuts and significant sales growth. Lexus sold 93823 new cars in the first half of the year, up 36.5% from the same period last year, and is expected to exceed 200000 this year, and the gap with Cadillac is gradually narrowing.

Taken together, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are expected to compete for the championship this year, and the launch and promotion of new cars in the second half of the year are worth looking forward to. Audi's failure to surprise the market due to lower-than-expected sales of its new cars, coupled with limited room for price cuts for new models, has stalled sales for a number of reasons, and this year is likely to be Audi's fiasco against Mercedes-Benz and BMW since it entered China.

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