Production in China Rises for 17th Consecutive Month

Vehicle production in China totaled 1,720,243 units in July, up 8.7% from year-ago. This was the highest July on record, but was the lowest monthly volume since February’s 1.6 million unit finish.

Nearly every sector witnessed gains in the month with buses posting the largest growth over like-2013. Bus production surged 15.5% to 14,365 units for the first year-over-year increase since March.

Car and light truck builds also rose in July, up 7.6% and 11.9%, respectively. Medium/heavy trucks saw production fall for the fourth consecutive month, down 7.6% to 64,088 units. This was the lowest volume for the sector since February 2013 when total builds reached only 61,425 units.

Production of the all-new Hover H2 began in July with 1,290 vehicles assembled. The SUV will sell for about RMB 100,000 ($16,300) and will compete with cars such as the Geely GLEagle GX7 and the Chery Tiggo.

SAIC GM-Wuling’s Hongguang van was the highest volume model in July, accounting for 3.4% of China’s total builds. With 58,607 units produced, it outpaced second-place Shanghai GM’s Buick Excelle by over 10,000 units.

Although not able to nab the top spot among models in July, Shanghai GM was able to hold onto the top position among manufacturers, while SAIC GM-Wuling placed fourth behind FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai VW.

Through July, China’s manufacturers built 13,515,302 vehicles, about 9.6%, or 800,000 units, more than like-2013.

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