Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

The Jade helped Honda pass Toyota in China this month.

* See the Top 65 All-brands ranking by clicking on the title! *

Quick update to share with you an All-brands ranking for China in October. Keep in mind this is for locally-produced models only and excludes LCVs. Volkswagen continues to sell almost 3 times as much as any other brand with 214,215 units sold this month. Nissan passes Hyundai to rank #2 in October thanks to 81,862 sales vs. 80,038 while Honda is now #4 above Toyota at 73,984 units vs. 72,406 thanks to the success of its recently launched models: CRider and Jade. Ford and Buick remain extremely solid at #6 and #7 both around 70,000 sales, Emgrand is up 4 spots on September to #22, JAC up 6 to #26 and Venucia up 5 to #34.

China Photo Report: Beijing 2013 Photo Reports

Previous post: China October 2013: Focus on the all-new models

Year-to-date update: China 10 months 2013: Discover the Top 339 All-models ranking!

Current month: China October 2013: Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze, Haval H6 and Emgrand EC7 hit highest ever volumes

One year ago: China October 2012: Ford Focus #1, only one Japanese in Top 50!

Full October 2013 Top 65 All-brands Ranking Table below.

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The Fiat 126p was the first passenger car to be imported into China in 1979.

* Click on the title for the direct links to 14 Historical articles! *

Chinese historical information all the way up to the start of the eighties is now available on Best Selling Cars Blog. This 30-odd year-period in China is definitely one of the most interesting in the history of automobile, sales in the country going from virtually nothing to 20 million today, making China by far the biggest new vehicle market in the world!

The VW Santana was the best-selling car in China for one decade from 1986 onwards.

In the early eighties the first passenger cars were imported into China, mainly Fiat 126p from Poland first used as taxis. 1986 marks the local production launch of the VW Santana, the very car that would set the ground work for China’s motorisation, with over 3 million units produced in 25 years. Witness the Santana pass the relay to the VW Jetta in the mid-nineties, the Jetta leading for over a decade and surviving to this day as a taxi with a second facelift in 2010 and 2 million units produced.

The VW Jetta was #1 in China up to 2008.

Discover the intense fight between the Jetta, Buick Excelle, Hyundai Elantra and Tianjin Xiali in the mid-noughties, leading to the crowning of the BYD F3 in 2009 and 2010, of the Buick Excelle in 2011 and the triumph of the Ford Focus in 2012. From October 2010 onwards there is a monthly coverage of the Chinese new car market on BSCB, with monthly year-to-date updates from 2012 onwards.

Most recent China post: China October 2013: Focus on the all-new models

Trans-Siberian Railway 2013 – China series

Direct links to 14 Historical posts below.

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JAC Heyue A30

* See the Top 314 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! *

As is now the tradition on BestSellingCarsBlog, after going through October sales and a year-to-date update for China, given this is the most dynamic car market in the world we zoom in on the all-new models making their first appearance in the Chinese ranking this month. This way you know all there is to know about absolutely all new cars getting into production in the most important car marketplace there is. In October we have four newcomers making their way into the Chinese ranking, two of them Chinese, with scores still relatively discreet for now. There are a lot more new launches to come in the next few months so be sure to check this monthly update often!

The most popular arrival is the JAC Heyue A30, landing at #144 with 2,800 sales. The A30 is a small sedan starting at 62.800 yuan ($10,300) and ending at 82.000 yuan ($13,500). It brings local manufacturer JAC into a new segment in which Chinese carmakers have no competition from foreign manufacturers yet: affordable small sedans. The JAC Heyue A30 therefore competes with the likes of the Great Wall Voleex C30, Haima M3 or the recently launched Chery E3. According to Car News China, “this segment is very popular in second and third tier cities where many citizens now have the cash to buy their first car, and what they want is a no-bullshit cheap sedan. JAC cars are rare in the big cities on the east coast where most car buyers go for the more expensive foreign brands”. I can confirm I only spotted a couple of JAC cars during my recent stay in Beijing. How far up can the A30 go? The answer is very far. Ranking at #144 it already is the brand’s #2 best-seller below the JAC Refine MPV at #106 and JAC’s #1 passenger car just above the Heyue down 55% to #145… A spot in the Top 100 seems guaranteed at this stage, a spot in the Top 50 would get JAC into the next level at home.

Gonow Xinglang MPV

Further below we have the Gonow Xinglang MPV (meaning ‘bright star’) making its entrance at #208 with 960 sales. Gonow is a subsidiary of GAC who was granted in November 2011 a patent by Dongfeng-Nissan to manufacture a clone of the Nissan NV200 which is what the Xinglang MPV is. So we’re looking at a legal copy here. It starts at at 52.800 yuan ($8,700) and ends at 79.800 yuan ($13,100): incredibly, cheaper than a cheap sedan! For comparison, the Nissan NV200, also produced locally and ranking #187 with 1,469 sales this month, costs double: it starts at 105.800 yuan ($17,400) and ends at 131.800 yuan ($21,600). It’s very hard to predict long-term sales prospects for the Xinglang, as it is already the best-selling of all 3 Gonow models present in the ranking! (the Aoosed GX5 is #233 and the Aoosed G5 is #240) and the brand’s first incursion into MPVs. It should be able to gather more sales than the Nissan NV200 so a spot inside the Top 150 could be a possibility.

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

The next new arrival will be familiar to you: it’s the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, switching from import to local production and therefore making its first appearance in our monthly sales charts at #252 with 347 sales. The way to differentiate import from locally produced Pajero Sport is the horizontal bars inside the grille for the Chinese version vs. vertical for the import. The Pajero Sport is produced by the GAC-Mitsubishi joint-venture founded one year ago and which already gave birth to the local ASX. Mitsubishi has also been producing passenger cars locally through another joint-venture with SouEast. For reference, the ASX ranked inside the Chinese Top 100 for the first time last September and currently stands at #144 year-to-date with 26,929 sales, meaning a spot inside the Top 175 for the Pajero Sport would be a neat achievement.

Skoda Yeti

Another model switching from import to local production this month is the Skoda Yeti. The Chinese Yeti starts just under 200,000 yuan ($32,800), positioning it as an entry-premium SUV, which can seem rather strange if you live in Europe. But both Volkswagen and Skoda are considered very classy here in China. The Chinese Yeti’s wheelbase stretched by 8 cm for more space in the back. Stretched variants are not uncommon in China but usually apply to luxury sedans like the Audi A6L and BMW 5 Series L, making the Yeti the first stretched small SUV to go on sale here. It lands at #268 with 180 sales, but given virtually all Skodas have been met with success in China this is a very temporary ranking. A stint inside the Top 100 is almost a certainty within the next 6 to 12 months, anything better will make the Yeti a blockbuster. For comparison the Octavia ranks #38 this month, the Rapid #93, the Superb #128 and the Fabia #153.

DS5

Finally, I know a lot of you have asked about sales figures for the DS5 now produced locally by the new Changan-PSA joint venture, which will be soon followed by the DS4, DS3 and DS X7 SUV. The official launch occurred on September 30, however there are no sales figures for October, which could mean actual sales of the locally-produced model have not started even though orders are being taken, or Changan-PSA does not share sales figures yet. I am looking into this matter as I am writing this article so stay tuned!

Previous month: China September 2013: Focus on the all-new models

Full October 2013 Top 314 All-models Ranking Table below.

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The VW Lavida is #1 in 2013 thanks to the Gran Lavida…

* See the Top 339 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! *

As is the tradition on BSCB, after looking at the October best-sellers in China, we delve into the year-to-date models ranking a little deeper to extract longer term trends. The #1 market in the world is up a fantastic 13% so far in 2013 to 17.81 million units and well on track to break the 20 million units barrier before the year comes to an end, the first time any country in the world has ever managed that feat… In spite of holding onto the top spot for the last few month, the Wuling Hongguang is still #2 this year with 346,543 sales (+34%) below the VW Lavida at 373,224 (+91%), 47,989 of which are the Gran Lavida. Yes, you have read well, the VW Lavida would not be #1 nationwide without its hatchback/station wagon variant…

2013 Ford Focus sales are up 48% on 2012 so far in China.

…and it would not even be #2 but #3 behind the Ford Focus, in olympic form once again this year at +48% to 326,557 units. Let’s just pause for a moment to notice that after only 10 months in 2012, all Top 3 most popular models have all sold more than any other Passenger Car did in a Full Year in China since the invention of the automobile! The previous 3 best scores were the Wuling Hongguang at 316,237 over the Full Year 2012, the Ford Focus at 296,360 the same year and the BYD F3 at 291,010 in 2009. More analysis will follow shortly.

The Ford Kuga is the best-selling all-new model so far in 2013.

All other models sell less than 250,000 units over the first 10 months of this year, and there are a few clear winners inside the Top 20. Firstly the VW Sagitar (aka current generation worldwide Jetta), up 49% and 8 spots to a splendid 5th position with 229,748 units, the Nissan Sylphy up 89% and 20 ranks to land at #11 with 196,052 sales, the Buick Excelle XT/GT up 21% and two ranks to #12 and the Hyundai Elantra Langdong, launched in August 2012 and understandably up 285% to #13. But the most impressive is the Haval H6, more than doubling its sales (+110%) to arrive at #14 with 171,117 units and snapping the title of #1 SUV in the country away from the VW Tiguan (#15) and Honda CR-V (#16).

The Honda Crider sold over 50,000 units in just 5 months.

The Emgrand EC7 also impresses and breaks into the year-to-date Top 20, up 32% and 6 ranks to #19 with 150,833 units, #3 Chinese model in the ranking. The new generation pushes the VW Santana up 63% and 15 spots to #22, but it’s word-of-mouth that is lifting the Hyundai ix35 by a fantastic 60% and 21 ranks to #26 this year… Launched in October 2012, the Kia K3 is no longer the best-selling all-new model but still ranks at an outstanding #29. The Great Wall Voleex C30 is up just 2% and the 4th Chinese inside the Top 30 at #30, followed by the Great Wall Haval M4 at #32 (+225%), BYD F3 Surui at #35 (+516%) and the DongFeng Future at #39 (+56%).

Launched this year, the Citroen C4L is already among the Top 100 most popular models in China.

The Ford Kuga now leads the all-new models charge at #54 with 75,567 units sold in 9 months, ahead of the ChangAn Honor at #61 with 70,828, the Hyundai Santa Fe at #70 and 59,805, Honda Crider at #77 and 52,240 (in only 5 months!), Buick Encore at #89 and 46,913, Ford Ecosport at #92 and 44,507, Peugeot 3008 at #99 and 41,620 and the Citroen C4L at #100 and 41,419 sales. That’s 8 all-new models inside the Top 100 (vs. none in the US over the same period!) out of 53 in total, keeping in mind this ranking only accounts for locally-produced models. At the same time last year there were 290 models produced and sold in China, now there are 339…

Previous month: China 9 months 2013: Discover the Top 335 All-models ranking!

One year ago: China 10 months 2012: Discover the Top 290 All-models ranking!

Full 10 months 2013 Top 339 All-models Ranking Table below.

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A record 21,222 Haval H6 found a buyer in China this month.

* See the Top 314 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! *

Euphoric days continue in China: the total market is up a whopping 20% year-on-year in October to 1.93 million units, the best monthly result since last January and bringing the year-to-date total to 17.81 million units, up 13% on 2013. Passenger cars are up an even more impressive 24% to 1.6 million units. The Wuling Hongguang brilliantly maintains itself above 50,000 monthly units at 55,150, up 61% year-on-year, whereas the Ford Focus breaks its monthly volume record at 39,710 sales, passing the VW Lavida (39,063) to claim the #2 spot. The VW Jetta is in great shape at #4 and +45% thanks to the new model, the Nissan Sylphy is up 184% to #6 while the Chevrolet Cruze breaks its volume record for the 2nd month running and the third time this year at 26,273 units, potentially thanks to the arrival of the hatchback variant.

Emgrand EC7

Two additional models inside the Top 12 break records this month and they are both Chinese! The (rebranded) Haval H6 is up one spot on September to reintegrate the overall Top 10 for only the third time ever after last July and August at #10 with sales up 41% year-on-year to an all-time high 21,222. The H6 is still the country’s most popular SUV however the Honda CR-V is catching up fast: up 240% to #13 and 19,510 units this month… The Emgrand EC7 is up 10 ranks on last month and 23% year-on-year to reach #12 and 20,275 sales, its first ever time above 20,000 monthly units with a previous best of previous best of 18,516 last January. However this is not the model’s highest ranking: it hit #10 in December 2012.

Roewe 350

Further down, other great performers include the VW Santana up 160% to #15 thanks to the new model, the Nissan Qashqai up a further 5 spots to #23 and 13,982 sales, its best ranking since June 2012 and best volume since March 2012, the Honda Crider cementing its newfound position among the country’s blockbusters at #26 and 12,522 units and the Nissan Teana up 5 to #31. A couple of other Chinese models are record-breakers: the Venucia R50/D50 is up 22 ranks to a best-ever #34 with an all-time high 11,403 sales while the Roewe 350 is up 36% year-on-year to #37 and a record 11,088 units, continuing its very impressive steady progression.

The Beijing Auto E-Series is up 283% year-on-year this month.

Note if there are only 5 Chinese in the Top 35, there are 13 inside the Top 50, all gaining ground year-on-year except the FAW Xiali down 12% to #48. Outside the Top 50, let’s salute the exceptional performance of the Beijing E-Series up 283% year-on-year and 29 spots on September to #53 and 8,806 sales, by far ranking and volume records for the model, potentially due to the arrival of the sedan variant but in any case the reward for steadily gearing up over the past 18 months.

The Chery E3 ranks #73 for its 2nd month in market.

Launched last month, the Honda Jade impresses further by gaining 12 spots to land at #67 for its 2nd month in market, but a couple of other recent launches are catching up: the Chery E3 is up a whopping 62 ranks to #73 with 6,790 sales while the Brilliance H330 is up 15 to #75 and 6,589 units, with the Haima M3 up 9 to #76 and the DongFeng Fengguang up 14 to #88. Finally, notice the Toyota Vios lifting up from the bottom of the ranking thanks to the new generation now in dealerships: up 94 spots to #214.

Previous month: China September 2013: Discover the Top 313 All-models ranking!

One year ago: China October 2012: Ford Focus #1, only one Japanese in Top 50!

Full October 2013 Top 314 All-models Ranking Table below.

Read more…

The Wuling Hongguang is the #1 Passenger Car in China in September. Yep, you read that right.

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 65 All-brands & Top 313 All-models! Click on title to see *

Finally – I know a lot of you have been waiting for it – I can share with you the best-selling models in China for September. No respite for Chinese new car sales this year: they surge by 21% year-on-year to 1.59 million units, their highest monthly volume since January, bouncing back from the consumer backlash sparked by a territorial dispute last year and bringing the year-to-date total to 12.8 million units, up 14% on 2012. The growth is fueled by SUVs up 65% to 283,600 units. Total sales of vehicles including buses and trucks are up 20% year-on-year to 1.94 million units, adding up to a record 15.9 million units in 9 months. Brand-wise, Ford is up 61%, Audi up 28% and both Mercedes and BMW are up 21%.

Wuling Hongguang

This month I have made the (controversial?) decision to include the Wuling Hongguang in the Passenger Cars ranking. It is indeed categorised as an MPV by the CAAM since the start of 2013 (and not LCV) and my visit to Beijing, China confirmed it is not a commercial vehicle. This ruffles a few feathers in the ranking as it puts the Hongguang in pole position with 51,211 sales, up a whopping 81% year-on-year. It’s the third time in the last 8 months that the Hongguang sells more than 50,000 monthly units in China after reaching 64,096 last February and 50,032 last March. This new classification makes the Hongguang the only passenger car to have ever clocked 50,000 and 60,000 monthly sales.

A huge 12,315 VW Gran Lavida found a buyer in China this month.

The VW Lavida is #2 with 42,267 sales, up a magnificent 72% year-on-year and the nameplate’s second best-ever monthly result below the 48,267 units it hit last January. The September total includes 12,315 Gran Lavida, an enormous success which would earn the variant a ranking just outside the Top 30 on its own, in a country not used to station wagons. This will surely incite more carmakers to start locally manufacturing models in this segment in the near future.

VW Jetta

Year-to-date, the Lavida holds onto the pole position in spite of the arrival of the Wuling Hongguang at 334,161 sals vs, 291,393. This means that after just 9 months, the Lavida has already beaten the all-time annual Passenger Car sales record, with the two previous bests being the Ford Focus at 296,360 over the Full Year 2012 and the BYD F3 at 291,010 in 2009. At 26,943 units the VW Jetta delivers its best monthly volume in almost 2 years, since January 2011 exactly when it reached 28,140 sales. The Chevrolet Cruze is at a best-ever 24,744 sales, beating the 24,477 hit last January, this could be the materialization of the hatchback variant hitting Chinese shores.

Nissan Sylphy

The Nissan Sylphy, up 133% on September 2012 to 22,972 sales – only its second time ever above 20,000 monthly units after last January – is the first of a series of Japanese models lodging impressive year-on-year gains because at the same time last year the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands conflict started impacting Nippon sales. Notice also the Nissan Teana up 114% (also due to the new model), Toyota RAV4 up 98%, Nissan Qashqai and Tiida up 89%, Honda Accord up 86%, Honda CR-V up 82, Toyota Corolla EX up 69% and the Toyota Corolla up 55%.

The VW Santana nameplate lodges its first 20,000+ sales month. 

The Chevrolet Sail (-17%) is the only model in the Top 12 to not post year-on-year gains, while the Hyundai Elantra Langdong is up a shiny 50% to a record 22,789 units at #8 and the VW Santana up a huge 225% thanks to the new model to 20,480 units, the nameplate’s first ever month above the 20,000 sales benchmark in its 30 year-career! Add the Sagitar at #9, the Passat at #13, Bora at #14, Tiguan at #17 and Magotan at #18 and we have 8 Volkswagen in the Top 18! The German manufacturer is clearly doing it right in China.

The 2013 Great Wall Haval H6 is branded Haval, not Great Wall! 

The Great Wall Haval H6 loses its title of best-selling Chinese PC with the arrival of the Wuling Hongguang but still manages a third consecutive record sales result at 21,141 units, up 40% year-on-year and the combination of the 2012 model runout and the arrival of the 2013 model, now branded Haval instead of Great Wall! I will share more exclusive pictures with you on one of my Trans-Siberian Beijing updates.

The Ford Mondeo has already done better than the previous generation!

There are a few other big events further down the Chinese ranking this month: still fresh from the factory, the Ford Mondeo new generation is up 68 spots on August to land just outside the Top 50 for only its 2nd month in market at #51 with just under 10,000 sales at 9,676, while the previous generation culminated at 8,095 sales and #54 in December 2011!

Fiat sold 10 times more Viaggio in September than in August!

The most surprising development is the explosive growth of the Fiat Viaggio, going from #191 and 1,001 sales in August to a record #52 and 9,497 units this month. Launched last November, the first Fiat to be produced in China since the Palio/Siena couple started its career with 4 months at 4,000 sales before stabilising around 3,000 monthly units and suddenly dropping last month. Had the factory hit a bottleneck and October will return to normal or is this the new performing Viaggio we should get used to? Given the the Viaggio is very competitively price and its design is well appreciated by Chinese consumers but the brand is suffering from a lack of dealerships (only 5 in the whole country!), I would bet on the first option.

There are no less than 7 newcomers in the Chinese PC ranking this month, but this is the subject of a dedicated post…

Previous post: China 8 months 2013: Discover the Top 326 All-models ranking!

Previous month: China August 2013: Great Wall Haval H6 breaks sales record again

One year ago: China September 2012: Island diplomatic row sends models ranking wild!

Full September 2013 Top 313 All-models and Top 65 All-brands Ranking Tables below.

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The Honda Jade lands directly at #79 this month.

* See the Top 313 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! *

This month no less than 7 all-new nameplates make their appearance in the Chinese Passenger Car ranking, 6 of them Chinese. While the Honda Crider is currently 2013’s most successful launch, ranking #26 in September with 13,754 sales, another Honda is the most popular all-new model this month, landing directly at #79 with 6,157 units sold. It’s the most impressive new arrival in the country since the Kia K3 hit #63 in October 2012 (ranking) and since the Hyundai Elantra Langdong sold 11,613 units for its first month back in August 2012 (volume).

Honda Jade

Marketed as ‘sedan avant garde’ locally, the Honda Jade is in fact based on the Stream and prefigures the 2015 Odyssey. It’s a blend of station-wagon and MPV, a segment much favoured in Japan but which has not had much success here until now. The Jade, starting at 149,800 yuan (US$24,600), is therefore a calculated bet for Honda, and one that already seems to have paid judging its high September volume. The Jade will easily break into the Top 50 in the next few months and a long-term Top 30 ranking is not out of reach.

Chery Arrizo 7

Just as Chery is deleting most of its brands (Rely and Riich were killed earlier this year), it is creating new ones (Qoros) as well as new sub-brands! Did I hear anyone cough streamlining? This month Chery launches the first of a new range of Arrizo sub-branded vehicles, the 7, with an upcoming small sedan (3) and SUV being next. The Arrizo 7, formerly known as the Chery A4, starts at 78,900 yuan (US$13,000) and already sold 4,000 units in September to rank at #117. A very fine start which however seems to be an estimate, so the next few months will tell us more about the model’s performance. It’s a bit of a blank page for Chery with a slightly more classy sub-brand, so hard to predict long-time prospects.

Chery has great expectations for the E3.

Back in the ‘core’ Chery range, we see the arrival of the E3 this month at #135 with 3,156 sales. The E3 follows Chery’s new naming convention and sits sits between the upcoming E2 and E5. It starts at 52,900 yuan ($US8,700) and competes with cars like the Great Wall Voleex C30, with the cheapest foreign model in the segment starting at 70,000 yuan (US$11,500). Judging by the amount I saw outside the Chery dealership I visited in Beijing, its objective is potentially a Top 30 or Top 20 ranking, which will be a tough gig to achieve given there is no automatic available which will limit the its appeal among first-car buyers.

Lifan 530

While Chery’s range continues to be relatively convoluted, Lifan has done simple: it has renamed its 320, 520 and 620 passenger cars to 330, 530 and 630 for the 2013 model year, even though these are merely facelifts. But the -20 models will continue to be sold alongside. Not so simple after all. The 530, starting at 51.800 yuan (US$8,500) is the only one of the group to be an all-new model. After a false start in the ranking last January, it lands at #191 with 1,332 units this month which is an excellent performance given the 520 currently stands at #205 year-to-date. According to Carnewschina.com, Lifan cars are designed to appeal to elderly buyers living in third and fourth tier cities, a huge market of over 300 million people looking to buy their very first car.

Lifan 330 already in rally attire

At #222 with 749 sales we have the all-new Lifan 330, marketed as a slightly more up-market version of the Mini-inspired 320 with a price starting at 39,800 yuan (US$6,500). Lifan designers have added a dose of Fiat 500L on top of the Mini cues. Note the 320 currently ranks #154 year-to-date.

Lifan 630

At #225 with 654 sales this month we have the Lifan 630, complete with its Infiniti-inspired grille and LED lights in the bumper. The 630 is priced from 54.900 to 65.900 yuan (US$9.000 to 10.800), making it one of the cheapest small sedans money can buy on the Chinese auto market according to Carnewschina.com. As a reminder note the Lifan 620 is #132 year-to-date. I expect all -30 models to rapidly lodge rankings above their -20 counterparts.

The Zotye Z100 starts at US$3,900 in China!

Zotye is another local carmaker that has cut to the chase when it comes to model-naming: this month the Z100, a shameless copy of the current generation Suzuki Alto priced at 23.800 yuan (only US$3.900!), arrives at #242 with 478 sales. It’s the latest addition to the Zotye range along with the Z200 and Z300 passenger cars and the T200 SUV, formerly known as 5008. Zotye still makes a legal clone of the 2nd gen Alto called the Jiangnan TT but does not have the rights to the current Alto. Its extremely attractive price coupled with automatic availability could allow it a Top 100 spot soon. For comparison, the Chery QQ is at #37 YTD but only #71 in September, the real Suzuki Alto is at #82, BYD F0 at #91 and ChangAn Benben Mini at #94.

Beijing Weiwang M20 sales are up 136% on August.

Finally let’s touch on the few launches from the last couple of months that are improving in September: while the Honda Crider (#26) and Ford Mondeo (#51) are already off the charts, notice the Brilliance H330 gaining 38% on August to #90, the Dongfeng Fengguang continuing its steady progression at +29% but remaining #102, the Luxgen 5 Sedan up 59% to #166 and the Beijing Weiwang M20 up 136% to #195.

September post: China September 2013: Discover the Top 313 All-models ranking!

Previous month: China August 2013: Focus on the all-new models

More analysis and full September 2013 Top 313 All-models Ranking Table below.

Read more…

The ChangAn CS35 is the only Chinese all-new model in the Top 100 so far in 2013.

* See the Top 335 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! *

I give you the ranking for now, complete analysis will follow shortly.

Full 9 months 2013 Top 335 All-models Ranking Table below.

Read more…

The Kia K3 is now the best-performing all-new model so far in 2013.

* See the Top 326 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! *

As is now the tradition on BSCB,  after going through the monthly sales charts and focusing on the all-new models entering the ranking, we explore the year-to-date figures to try and extract longer-term trends. As a reminder the overall Chinese market is still on track to achieve a record year, the first one above 20 million annual vehicles actually, when you include commercial vehicles.. And you would think such a big market would display a very stable models ranking. Think again. The Top 10 (and the rest of the ranking even more) is completely reshuffled when compared with the same stage last year. Only #9 one year ago, the VW Lavida is now by far the most popular Passenger Car in the country thanks to sales more than doubling year-on-year (+109%) to 291,894, the highest sales result after 8 months of any model in the history of Passenger Cars in China… Note this figure includes the Gran Lavida.

Sales of Nissan Sylphy are up 72% this year in China.

In 2nd place whereas it was only 5th one year ago, the Ford Focus is up 62% to 249,576 units while the Buick Excelle, best-seller overall at the same time last year, is down two spots to #3 because of sales up only 1% to 192,772. The other two spectacular progressions in the Top 10 are delivered by the VW Sagitar (Chinese for the current gen Jetta) up 68% and 13 ranks to #4 and 185,963 sales and the Nissan Sylphy up 72% and 18 spots to #9 at 148,491 units. The Chevrolet Sail and VW Jetta are both down 3 to #5 and #6 and the VW Passat and Bora down one to #7 and #8 while the Chevrolet Cruze is down 6 to #10.

Buick Excelle XT

Just outside the Top 10, notice the Buick Excelle XT/GT (a Chinese current gen Opel Astra) up 23% to #11. For a long time the best performing newcomer, the Hyundai Elantra Langdong celebrates one year since its Chinese launch and is now therefore up 1074% to #12. Great result for the Great Wall Haval H6 up 150% and 40 spots to #15 at 128,754 sales, the most popular local ahead of the Emgrand EC7 up 42% and 13 ranks to #19. The VW Polo displays impressive health, up 40% and 13 spots to #31 while the VW Santana is already enjoying the benefits of its new generation, up 41% and 15 ranks to #22 and the Hyundai ix35 is up a fantastic 79% and 24 spots to #25.

Hyundai Santa Fe

This month the Kia K3 becomes the best performing of all 50 newcomers in the ranking and the only one inside the Top 30 at #28 with 89,285 units sold, above the BYD F3 Surui at #35 and 80,195 sales, the Ford Kuga at #60 and 55,598 units, ChangAn Honor at #65, Hyundai Santa Fe at #68 and ChangAn CS35 at #73.

Zotye Z300

Other interesting evolutions include the Great Wall Haval M4 up 379% to #32 and shaping up to be an incredible success, now #5 local just below the Great Wall Voleex C30 and Chery QQ… The Chevrolet Malibu is up 214% to #44, Venucia R50/D50 up 209% to #52, ChangAn Eado up 231% to #62, GAC Trumpchi GS5 up 374% to #80 and the Zotye Z300 up 526% to #92.

Citroen C-Quatre

Now onto a few well known models. The Audi A6L passes the 100,000 units milestone after just 8 months but is down 3 spots to #24 while the BMW 5 Series L is up a very satisfying 34% and 15 spots to #30, the Audi A4L up 18% to #34, the BMW 3 Series L up a huge 137% to #76 and the Mercedes C-Class up 21% to #134. The Skoda Octavia is down 12% to #33, Citroen C-Quatre (aka C4) up 3% to #40, Peugeot 308 up 35% to #61 in spite of its ‘old’ age and the Fiat Viaggio down to #136 (it was #125 last month).

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Full 8 months 2013 Top 326 All-models Ranking Table below.

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The new generation Ford Mondeo lands directly at #119 this month.

* See the Top 309 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! *

This is a new series on BSCB, focusing on the all-new models entering the Chinese ranking, and we are now kick starting its 4th instalment. After a couple of slow months, the newcomer frenzy is back in China, with 4 all-new models landing in the ranking in August, including 3 inside the Top 120! We’ll also have a quick look at the best performing launches of the last couple of months. Remember this update always only considers models manufactured in China as imports data is unavailable for now.

Brilliance H330

The most successful new entrant this month is the Brilliance H330 landing at #99 with 3,853 sales. Now for those of you who have followed BSCB meticulously you will know the H330 has already appeared in the Chinese ranking indeed, even reaching #66 last month, alongside with the FSV it replaces. However H330 sales are now being treated separately from the FSV, hence the new entrant status. The H330 is an illustration of the brand’s new naming system, which also includes the H320 hatchback (the least successful at #245 this month), the smaller H230 (#70) and larger H530 (#192).

Mazda CX-5

Missing out of the Top 100 as early as for its first appearance in the Chinese ranking is the Mazda CX-5, now produced locally and already selling 3,654 units at #101, meaning it is already the brand 2nd best-selling model in the country after the Mazda6 at #60… Two years after its launch in the rest of the world, the CX-5 continues to gain traction in most markets, so we can expect a great word-of-mouth for the model in China, plus the SUV segment is on fire here so a Top 50 ranking as soon as next month could well be in the cards. The sky is the limit in the longer-term, and a Top 20 teasing the VW Tiguan, Honda CR-V and Hyundai ix35 could mean the CX-5 is Mazda’s ticket to vastly increased Chinese sales in 2014…

Further down we have the new generation Ford Mondeo, a US Fusion modified for China selling 3,155 units in its first month to rank at #119. It is counted separately to the old model which is down 79% this month to #197. Ford wants to sell between 70,000 to 110,000 units of the Mondeo a year in China, which means at least 6,000 a month and should warrant a Top 50 ranking. This would make the Mondeo Ford’s third best-seller in the country behind the Focus (#2 this month) and Kuga (#42).

Beijing Weiwang M20

Finally, the last newcomer this month in China is a mini MPV: the Beijing Weiwang M20, selling 519 units to rank #225. Not much is know about this model, it’s however interesting to notice that this is Beijing Auto’s second new entrant in the last 4 months alongside the Senova D advertised by Nicolas Cage which has stabilised around 1,000 monthly units. The other mini-MPV Beijing Auto sells is the E-Series, loosely based on the last generation Mercedes B-Class, which has impressed so far in 2013, knocking on the Top 100′s door in August at #106…

GAC Trumpchi GA3

Among recent launches, apart from the Honda Crider already playing with the big boys at #27, let’s salute the DongFeng Fengguang, up a further 76% and 38 spots on July to rank at #102, the Luxgen 5 Sedan multiplying its July sales by 3 to 1,304 and up 44 ranks to #179, the GAC Trumpchi GA3 even more impressive: increasing its sales 4-fold to 1,302 and up 56 spots to #180 and the prestigious FAW Hongqi H7 up 6% on last month but down 3 ranks to #241.

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One year ago: China August 2012: Ford Focus leads, VW Lavida back in the game

Full August 2013 Top 308 All-models Ranking Table below.

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