China imports September 2021: Mercedes overtakes Lexus, sales off -20.5%

Mercedes GLE sales are up 31.1% in a market down -20.5%.

Sales of new imported cars in China accelerate their fall in September at -20.5% to 77.373 units, leading to a year-to-date volume up just 4.9% to 736.096. Mercedes (+2.9%) braves the negative environment to snap the pole position away from Lexus (-31.3%) in difficulty. BMW (-5.6%) limits its fall to stay at #3 while Porsche (-11.2%) overtakes Audi (+10.7%) for 4th place overall. Land Rover (-18.8%) incrementally improves its share year-on-year unlike Mini (-26.5%) while Volvo (+10.5%) is the only additional gainer in the Top 10. Further down, Jeep (+4.3%), Maserati (+36.2%), Jaguar (+28.9%), Bentley (+47.9%), Rolls Royce (+49.5%) and Alfa Romeo (+10.5%) shine in the remainder of the Top 20.

Model-wise, the Lexus ES (-43.5%) retains the top spot but its advantage over the #2, the BMW X5 (+4.1%) this month, thins to just 573 units. The Mercedes GLE (+31.1%) soars ahead and is up two spots on August to #3, knocking the Lexus RX (-13.9%) down to #4. The Porsche Macan (+6.6%) advances to #5 ahead of the Lexus NX (-20.8%) while the Volvo XC90 (+7.8%) also manages a year-on-year uptick. Along with the Lexus ES, the BMW 7 Series (-39.4%) and Mercedes S-Class (-8%) are the only sedans in the Top 10. Notice also the BMW X4 (+80%) up eight spots on August to #11, the Mercedes GLS (+146.1%) and the BMW 2 Series (+242.4%) both posting fantastic year-on-year gains.

Previous month: China imports August 2021: Audi, Mercedes, Land Rover can’t prevent market fall (-8.5%)

Previous year: China imports Full Year 2020: Lexus places ES, RX and NX in Top 4 again in market down -12.3%

Full September 2021 Top 33 All-brands and Top 150 All-models below.