Passenger Car Index Analysis Report for the First Quarter

In 2012, the domestic passenger car market experienced the slowest growth period in five years. This is the result of interactions between various factors inside and outside the market. In the market, the consumption energy of sorghum was fully released in the market blowout period of 2008-2010 and the back-injection period of 2011-2012. The subsequent wave of interest fission has also caused the consumer power to shift relatively evenly to more category-grade markets. As a result, the overall market has shown relatively mild growth. Outside the market, external factors such as the slowdown in domestic economic growth and the Sino-Japanese island disputes have caused a relatively modest year for auto consumption. Under such market conditions, will the development of the market in 2013 be a continuation of slower growth, or will there be new changes? What are the changes that will be brought to the various categories of markets by the wave of interest fission? This is the topic of concern in this report.

Judging from the sales trend, the 4th quarter of 2012 showed ample supply of energy in the steady release of the market trend. Whether from the sales cycle or the year-on-year comparison of sales, we can see the same phenomenon: Compared with previous years, although the sales growth rate is not as high as during the blowout period, it maintains a steady growth trend of continuous growth. The growth of sales in December showed a short-term manoeuvre, but it should be seen as a natural adjustment in the market after a continuous rise.

After entering 2013, the market trend immediately showed a strong growth trend after natural adjustment. The Spring Festival holiday in February brought about natural fluctuations in the market. The market sales momentum in March continued to show relatively high development momentum. It is worth noting that on March 15th, CCTV made great efforts to expose the quality of domestic cars. This slows people's car consumption to a certain extent. Under such circumstances, the relatively high growth rate indicates that automobile consumption is in an energy-rich cycle and needs to be released continuously.

Mini-vehicle market: The mini-vehicle market faced a very large market crisis last year. Sales are much lower than in previous years. Sales showed a negative growth year-on-year. However, from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, it can be seen that the mini-vehicle market has been holding its ground. This insistence has achieved a certain market effect. Sales in October, November and January showed a volatile growth trend. The slight drop in December was negligible. In February, it fell naturally with the overall downturn in the auto market. In March, there was a gratifying rise. From the year-on-year sales volume, it can be seen that in November, December and January, the sales of the mini-vehicle market increased compared with the same period of last year, and the year-on-year increase in January was the highest. From the market share, it can also be seen that the share is basically sticking above 4.2%. This is not easy for mini vehicles that have lost half of their energy consumption.

Small car market: The small car market oscillated substantially in the fourth quarter of last year, and its sales increased slightly in the ups and downs. From time to time in the first quarter of this year, the market has naturally increased and declined with the overall market trend. In January, sales peaked. In February, the market affected by the Spring Festival fell to a low point. The market rose rapidly in March. This year, in the small car market, interest fission will continue to deepen. The various interest-oriented models in each segment will re-establish self-competitive momentum and competition. Therefore, the consumption energy of this period is changing from strong to weak and from weak to strong. This process will continue until the small car market once again establishes its own rhythm.

Compact car market: From the fourth quarter of last year to January this year, the compact car market has entered the cycle of heavy volume growth as in previous years. In January this year reached the peak of sales. In February, affected by the Spring Festival, the market slipped to the lowest bottom of the year. In March, the market quickly recovered. This is very consistent with the overall market for passenger vehicle market. This shows that the compact car market began to find new market developments after the shock adjustment.

Mid-size car market: From the fourth quarter of last year to January of this year, the sales of the midsize car market are in a rising channel. The market dropped naturally in February. In March, the market naturally adjusted back. Last year, there were 9 new models and new models. They are: Roewe 950, 7th-generation Camry, Malibu, Pentium B90 and B70, Siming, Jingcheng, Lifan 720 and Qiyun 5. This year, we will look forward to new changes in the segment structure of the midsize car market. This change will create a broader and deeper space for the development of interest fission.

Medium-to-large vehicle market: From the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, sales of medium-to-large-sized vehicles have slowly increased in the midst of shocks. Last October saw a small trough. November quickly rebounded. December sales fell again. In January there was a small red high, which was a 15% increase from the previous quarter. Natural decline in February. In March again, it will bounce back. Medium to large cars are the most high-end model market for domestic passenger cars. Business models constitute its core market. Mercedes-Benz E-class, BMW 5-series long wheelbase version, the new Audi A6L, the new crown, the new LaCrosse five models, support from the market space here.

SUV market: From the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, the market sales maintained a positive growth year-on-year. And the positive growth rate is getting faster and faster, so that the growth rate from December last year to January this year exceeded 60%. In the low season of the Spring Festival, sales volume still increased by 11.5% over the same period of last year. This again shows that the SUV has a strong growth potential this year. From last year to this year, the SUV has been on the market with 16 new models and new generation models. These models are evenly distributed in the high-end, sub-high end, mid-end, mid-end and low-end markets. Therefore, from the point of view of sales figures, the SUV has been holding an overall upward trend from last year to this year.

MPV market: It can be seen from the ring sales and sales that in the fourth quarter of last year, MPV sales fell slightly in the shock. In the first quarter of this year, sales rose. Sales increased exponentially. Compared with the sales situation of the overall passenger vehicle market, the trend of the MPV market this year is a normal one. Looking at the auto market dynamics of MPV during the period of 2012-2013, we discovered that the Wuling Hongguang, which was originally the male van market, and Changan Ono, which was newly listed in 2012, changed the category and formed a strong force.