China imports February 2020: Mercedes #1, Porsche (-55.4%) resists in market down -78.4%

Porsche manages the best hold among all mass imported brands in February.

Retail sales of imported cars in China fall -78.4% in February to 10.512 units, in line with the rest of the market and pulling the year-to-date tally down -41.4% to 92.418. The brands podium is reversed compared to January, with Mercedes (-69.3%) up two spots to #1, Lexus (-79.3%) remaining at #2 and BMW (-76.2%) down two to #3. Porsche (-55.4%) remains at #4 but scores the best hold among brands selling over 10 units. Mini (-75.7%) also slightly outpaces the market at #5 but the rest of the Top 10 falls apart, with Audi (-87.4%), Toyota (-87.3%), Volkswagen (-86.5%), Lincoln (-86.7%) and Land Rover (-85.4%) all freefalling.

Model-wise, there are no outlandish changes to the ranking, with most best-sellers affected relatively similarly. The Lexus ES (-76.6%) remains the most popular import in China, distancing the Mercedes GLE (-53.8%) and Lexus RX (-77.5%) for the month. The Porsche Cayenne (-39.3%) resists better at #4, as do the Mercedes S-Class (-67.7%) at #6 and the Mercedes GLC Coupe (-70%) at #10. The Tesla Model 3 remains the best-selling recent launch (<12 months) but drops 10 spots on January to #16 now that the locally-made model is on sale. It distances the BMW X7 (#33), Lincoln New Navigator (#44), Audi Q8 (#52) and Lincoln Nautilus (#53).

Previous month: China imports January 2020: BMW reclaims #1 spot, Lexus ES and NX strong in market down -24.8%

One year ago: China imports February 2019: Lexus (+21.8%), Mini (+31.5%) defy market down -23.9%

Full February 2020 Top 40 All imported brands and Top 150 All-models below.