According to the data recently released by LMC Automotive, the top brands in the Chinese vehicle market experienced some dramatic sales shifts in the first quarter of 2015. Most domestic passenger brands experienced strong sales. Among them, Changan experienced remarkable sales growth. The automaker now ranks second only to market leader Volkswagen. Beijing Automotive (a.k.a. BAIC) made the list of top 20 passenger brands and was in the top 10 commercial brands. Wuling Motors (SAIC-GM) and Dongfeng Motor moved ahead in their rankings.
As the only brand with a market share above 10%, Volkswagen retained its top position with a market share of 14.7%. Eight of the Chinese domestic brands made it into the top 20 sales list: Changan, Wuling, Haval (Great Wall), Dongfeng, Geely, BYD, Beijing Auto (BAIC), and Chery. Changan and Wuling moved into the top ten, ranking second and seventh, respectively.
Here are the sales for the top 20 vehicle brands provided by LMC:
1st: Volkswagen (VW -FAW – SAIC joint venture)
Vehicle unit sales in March dropped 8% over March 2014 to 230,417. First quarter sales dropped 1% to 784,352 vehicles. With a 14.7% share of the passenger car market, VW is the only brand with market share over 10%.
2nd: Changan
Unit sales in March increased 34% over March 2014 to 97,752. First quarter sales were up 58% to 303,934 vehicles. Market share of passenger cars increased 2.1% over last year. Market share grew from 3.6% at the end of last year to the current 5.7% share, making Changan the fastest growing brand.
3rd: Hyundai (Hyundai – BAIC joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 8% over March 2014 to 103,785. First quarter sales fell 2% to 283,104 vehicles, leaving Hyundai with a 5.3% passenger car market share.
4th: Buick (GM – SAIC joint venture)
Unit sales in March was 103,785, flat compared to March 2014 deliveries. First quarter sales fell 4% to 229,015 vehicles, resulting in a 4.3% passenger car market share. 第5名：福特
5th: Ford (Ford – Changan joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 2% over March 2014 to 76,943. First quarter sales were up 11% to 226,620 vehicles, giving Ford a 4.3% passenger car market share.
6th: Toyota (Toyota – GAC – FAW joint venture)
Unit sales in March fell 11% compared to March 2014 to 78,566. First quarter sales were down 9% to 206,188 vehicles, resulting in a 3.9% passenger car market share for Toyota.
7th: Wuling (Wuling – SAIC – GM joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 11% over March 2014 to 70,652. First quarter sales fell 6% to 196,742 vehicles, giving Wuling a 3.7% share of the passenger car market.
8th: Chevrolet (GM – SAIC joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 3% over March 2014 to 61,064. First quarter sales were flat compared to a year ago with 178,954 vehicle sales, resulting in Chevrolet’s 3.4% passenger car market share.
9th: Honda (Honda – GAC – Dongfeng joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 20% over March 2014 to 71,178. First quarter sales were up 6% to 71,178 vehicles, giving Honda a passenger car market share of 3.2%.
10th: Kia (Kia – Dongfeng – Yueda joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 14% over March 2014 to 62,871. First quarter sales were up 2% to 168,433 vehicles resulting in Kia’s passenger car market share of 3.2%.
11th: Nissan (Nissan – Dongfeng – Zhengzhou joint venture)
Unit sales in March fell 12% compared to March 2014 to 65,576. First quarter sales were down 13% to 165,225 vehicles. Market share of passenger cars fell 1.3%. Nissan share fell from 4.4% at the end of last year to the current 3.1%. This caused Nissan’s ranking to drop six places from its previous fifth place. Of all the top 20 brands, Nissan’s sales and ranking dropped the most.
12th: Haval (Great Wall)
Unit sales in March increased 94% over March 2014 to 59,394. First quarter sales were up 99% to 162,271 vehicles, giving Haval a 3% passenger car market share. Its ranking moved up 5 places from last year’s 17th place.
13th: Dongfeng (Dongfeng – Zhengzhou joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 50% over March 2014 to 56,177. First quarter sales were up 43% to 161,742 vehicles. Dongfeng’s passenger car market share stands at 3.0%. Its ranking moved ahead three places from last year’s 16th place.
14th: Geely
Unit sales in March increased 42% over March 2014 to 49,446. First quarter sales were up 56% to 141,656 vehicles. Geely’s market share of passenger car sales stands at 2.7%. Its ranking moved ahead four places from last year’s 18th place.
15th: Audi (VW – FAW joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 2% over March 2014 to 50,018. First quarter sales were up 3% to 140,847 vehicles, giving Audi a passenger car share of 2.6%, three positions below last year’s 12th place.
16th: BYD Auto
Unit sales in March increased 17% over March 2014 to 45,826. First quarter sales were up 21% to 125,273 vehicles. BYD’s share of passenger car sales is 2.4%.
17th: Beijing Automotive (BAIC)
Unit sales in March increased 310% over March 2014 to 49,298. First quarter sales were up 199% to 119,630 vehicles. Beijing Auto’s share of passenger car sales stands at 2.2%.
18th: BMW (BMW – Brilliance joint venture)
Unit sales in March were flat at 38,768. First quarter sales were up 2% to 116,628 vehicles, yielding a 2.2% share of the passenger car market.
19th: Peugeot (PSA – Dongfeng joint venture)
Unit sales in March increased 13% over March 2014 to 35,416. First quarter sales were up 24% to 106,975 vehicles, leaving Peugeot with a 2% share of passenger car sales.
20th: Chery
Unit sales in March increased 19% over March 2014 to 41,256. First quarter sales were up 7% to 101,849 vehicles giving Chery a 1.9% passenger car market share.
The total sales of passenger cars in March 2015 increased 12% to 1,867,311 vehicles. First quarter total sales were up 11% to 5,330,694 vehicles. The sales of passenger vehicles accounted for 82.5% of light vehicle sales in China.
