China LV Market Sees Record Sales, Output in 2013

New-vehicle sales in China soared 13.9% to a record 21,984,100 units in 2013, with the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers saying the growth rate was significantly higher than expectations at the beginning of the year.

The result made China the first country to surpass 20 million deliveries in a year.

Production also smashed the 20 million barrier, rising 14.8% to 22,116,800 units.

The record year ended with 2.13 million sales in December, the best monthly result of 2013.

CAAM says 2013 sales of cars and SUVs climbed 15.7% to 17.93 million units, with production advancing 16.5% to 18.08 million.

“This year’s growth was mainly driven by cars and SUVs, of which the sales of cars achieved 12,009,700 units, increased by 11.8% from the previous year (and) accounting for 47.2% in total passenger cars’ growth,” CAAM says in a statement. “The sales of SUVs were 2.99 million units, up 49.4% year-on-year (and) accounting for 36.9% in total.”

Sales of Chinese-brand cars rose 11.4% to 7.22 million units, representing 40.3% of the total. Deliveries of German, Japanese, U.S., South Korean and French brands accounted for 18.8%, 16.4%, 12.4%, 8.8% and 3.1%, respectively.

Commercial-vehicle sales rose 6.4% to 4.05 million units as production climbed 7.6% to 4.03 million. After peaking in 2010, the CV market declined for two years before recovering in 2012.

CAAM says sales of alternative-energy vehicles jumped 37.9% to 17,642 units, with battery- electrics totaling 14,604 and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles 3,038. Production advanced 39.7% to 17,533, comprising 14,243 all-electrics and 3,290 PHEVs.

The China Daily quotes CAAM Deputy Secretary-General Ye Shangri telling a Global New Energy Vehicle Conference in Haikou the domestic alternative-fuel-vehicle industry is on track for rapid development over the next two or three years.

The industry group says LV exports fell 7.5% last year to 977,300 units, with cars down 9.8% to 596,300 and CVs retreating 3.5% to 381,000.

In the first 11 months, it says, the top 10 export destination countries were Algeria (112,100 units), Russia (84,000), Chile (71,600), Iran (50,200), Peru (37,300), Colombia (34,500), Egypt (32,200), Iraq (28,700), Uruguay (28,500) and Ukraine (27,200).

“For the first 11 months, the total import of automobiles was 1,073,400 units, up 1.8% year-on-year,” CAAM says. “Among them, the import of SUVs was 455,000 units, up 8.7% year-on- year; cars were 383,900 units, down 8.5% year-on-year; (and) small buses were 202,500 units, up 23% year-on-year.”

The top 10 countries of origin were Germany (222,900), Japan (210,900), the U.S. (200,100), the U.K. (108,100), South Korea (80,200), Mexico (59,800), Belgium (45,200), Slovakia (40,500), Canada (19,500) and Sweden (59,800).