China wholesales August 2020: CAAM estimates 11% surge, commercials up 38%

The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV reportedly sold 15.000 units in its first 20 days in market.

The -4.2% drop over the first 20 days of the month by Chinese carmakers was a false alarm: according to preliminary data by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), new vehicle wholesales in China enjoy a 5th consecutive month of year-on-year gains and 4th straight double-digit uptick in August at +11% to 2.18 million units. This follows gains of +4.4% in April, +14.5% in May, +11.6% in June and +16.4 in July. Passenger Vehicles (sedans, SUVs, MPVs and minivans) reduce their increase to +4.4% for the month vs. +8.5% in July while Commercial Vehicles, propped by government investments in new infrastructure projects, continue to evolve at record levels and sport another whopping +38% year-on-year surge in August after rising 59.4% in July, 63.1% in June, 48% in May and 31.6% in April. The year-to-date Chinese market is now down -9.7% to 14.54 million with Passenger Vehicles down -16% and Commercial Vehicles up 17%.

Final August wholesales data will be available late next week and published as soon as possible after that.

Previous post: China wholesales 1-20 August 2020: Partial data shows post-pandemic bounce screeching to a halt: -4.2%

Previous month: China wholesales July 2020: Post-Covid rebounds accelerates to +16.4%, Toyota (+29.3%) smiles, VW (-6.1%) cries

One year ago: China wholesales August 2019: SUVs up 1.5%, electrified vehicles down -15.8% in 14th consecutive market loss (-6.9%)