China Production Up 5.4% in First Quarter

China vehicle production reached 6,201,586 units in first-quarter 2015, up 5.4% from the same period last year and a record-high Q1 result for the country. Year-over-year gains from the top five automakers outweighed poor results from many smaller companies.

Shanghai GM Wuling was the top manufacturer, advancing 12.3% to 537,041 vehicles. Shanghai VW showed slower growth, up just 4.3% to 519,232, allowing it to fall to second place for the quarter.

The next three automakers held their ranks. FAW Volkswagen’s output rose 18.1% from year-ago. Builds from Shanghai GM increased 9.2%. Chana was the most improved, up 19.0% to 358,584 vehicles.

Car production totaled 3,137,040 units, down 6.1% from the previous quarter, but 3.4% above Q1 2014. 

Light-truck builds soared 12.1% to 2,828,733. The total was lifted by CUVs and SUVS, which grew 35.4% and 40.2%, respectively. Van production was up 9.2%, boosted by the nation’s most produced model, SAIC GM-Wuling’s Hongguang van, which saw a 20.7% rise in output.

Large commercial vehicles took a sharp downturn, but accounted for less than 5% of the market. Medium-duty truck builds slipped 26.6% to 51,675 units. Heavy-duty trucks totaled 154,889, falling 31.6%. Bus production ticked down 2.7% with 29,249 built.

Over the 3-month period, January had the best results, with an 11.5% gain from last year. February had the only year-over-year dip, down just 0.5%. March production was 4.0% ahead of same-period 2014.

[email protected]