Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Picture by Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty

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VW’s sales in China are up 21% over the third quarter of 2012 to 704,991 vehicles, vs. 664,765 for General Motors. It is the first time in 8 years that Volkswagen manages to pass GM, putting the German company one step closer to its aim of becoming the world’s biggest automaker by 2018. While quarterly comparisons only go back to mid-2009, annual data shows Volkswagen hasn’t held the lead in China since 2004. China is both Volkswagen’s and General Motors’ biggest market in the world.

The new Lavida helped VW pass General Motors over Q3 2012 in China.

In 2009, China passed the United States as the world’s biggest car market. Autonews says the Chinese car market will likely exceed those of the United States, Japan and Germany combined by 2015… But I can see a few of you regular BSCB readers looking at this article with big, surprised eyes. How can General Motors still be at the same level as Volkswagen I hear you ask, given 5 of the Top 10 best-selling cars in 2012 so far are VW? Oh but there’s a trick. If VW counts Hong Kong and Macau in its Chinese sales figures but excludes trucks, General Motors does the opposite and includes sales of $5,000+ Wuling minivans.

Wuling Sunshine. Wuling accounts for 50% of General Motors’ sales in China.

And as you know, Wuling minivans sell like hot cakes in China, outselling all other 4-wheel vehicles in the country for the past 8 years. In fact, Autonews thinks that GM’s ability to fend off Volkswagen this year and in the future could hinge solely on Wuling’s minivans, with Wuling accounting for about half of the GM’s sales in China.

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Autonews says: ‘With more refreshed models in showrooms [albeit becoming a little confusing - see my China-Volkswagen who's who article here] just as Chinese buyers have turned away from Japanese brands, Volkswagen has been better able to capitalize on the tensions than GM, said Steve Man, a Nomura Holdings Inc. analyst. Volkswagen is also expanding production capacity faster  at +38% this year versus GM’s +26%, JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimates.’

‘China has helped cushion the slump in Europe, where car deliveries are headed for their biggest fall in 19 years as the region’s financial crisis continues. Though auto sales in China have slowed in recent months, the market has plenty of room to grow. Vehicle ownership in the country was equivalent to 4.7% of the population, versus about 51% in Japan and 81% in the US, according to 2009 figures from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.’

‘Volkswagen is planning to invest 14 billion euros ($18 billion) from 2012 to 2016 in the country to regain its lead. GM said last year it planned to invest as much as $7 billion in China from 2011 to 2015. To spur sales, GM is expanding capacity and boosting production of its luxury Cadillac lineup in China, CEO Dan Akerson told reporters in Sao Paulo on Oct. 21.’

‘Wuling September sales fell 2.5% – more than the total market – as the slowing economy hit demand for cheaper vehicles as less-wealthy buyers reined in spending. Speculation the government may subsidize new minivans and small cars to spur growth in rural areas has also made some buyers delay purchases, said John Zeng, director of Asian forecasting at LMC in Shanghai.’

Source: Autonews