China retail January 2022: BMW, Hongqi, Jetta break records in market down -3.9%

BMW sales hit a new monthly record in January, with the 5 Series L its best-seller.

BSCB is the only non-Chinese medium to cover both wholesales (ex-factory shipments) and retail sales data for China so you can get the most complete picture of the largest new car market in the world. Retail sales tend to give a more authentic picture of the market as they roughly correspond to registrations by end-customers and are more difficult to artificially boost with exports which can sometimes be the case for wholesales data. The selection of vehicles included in this update is down -3.9% year-on-year in January to 2,180,867 units. Note pickups and medium to heavy commercial vehicles are not included in this dataset, but it includes a more detailed split by model variant (Jetour X70, X70 Coupe, X70 Plus, X70M and X70S for example).

In the brands ranking, Volkswagen (-24.1%) can’t catch a break and continues on its downward spiral, yet holding onto the top spot with just under 230,000 retail sales. Its volume is penalised by abrupt falls by the Phideon (-64.7%), Tacqua (-69.9%), T-Cross (-62.8%), Teramont X (-57.7%), Polo (-52.5%), Bora (-42.8%), Santana (-37.6%), Tayron (-36.5%), Sagitar (-32.2%), Lavida (-31.1%) and Magotan (-28.8%), and despite solid outputs by the CC (+84.9%) and Golf (+35.7%). The entire ID range, now composed of 5 models, only adds up to 8,643 sales this month. Toyota (+8.1%) is the only gainer in the Top 6 and benefits from strong lifts by the Wildlander (+85.7%) outselling its twin the RAV4, the Camry (+30.1%), and Highlander (+27.3%) as well as successful launches by the Harrier (4,553) and Sienna (4,370). Honda (-4.5%) drops to match the market rate, despite satisfying performances by the Inspire (+56.6%), Fit (+44.1%), Vezel (+30.5%), Odyssey (+16.9%) and Accord (+6.8%) and an impressive start of the Integra, scoring over 7,000 sales for its 2nd month in market.

Geely (-1.4%) holds onto the domestic brands top spot and keeps its loss to a minimum, thanks to the success of the Emgrand (+46.3%) reinvigorated by a new generation, the Xingrui (+59.4%), Binyue (+7%), Vision X3 (+6.5%) and the new launch Xingyue L (11,084). Changan (-8.6%) and Nissan (-24.4%) both fall faster than the market whereas BMW (+22.9%) soars to an all-time record volume of almost 91,000 retail sales thanks to exceptional performances of the ix3 (+415.9%), the 5 Series (+37.8%), 3 Series (+22.2%) and X3 (+34.8%) all breaking their volume record. Wuling (+14.5%) falls back one spot on its FY2021 ranking but is still defiant of the market decline. BYD (+70.5%) continues all guns blazing and signs the largest year-on-year gain in the Top 10 and Top 30 thanks to the Yuan (+847.4%), Song Plus (+208%), Tang (+150.4%), e2 (+135.8%), Han (+20.8%) and new Dolphin (9,728). Below, Buick (-21.8%) and Haval (-21.9%) struggle.

Other great gainers below include Ora (+71.4%), Hongqi (+43.7%) breaking its volume record at 34,770, Jetta (+38.6%) also at an all-time high to 21,428 units, GAC (+29.6%), Chery (+27.3%), Dongfeng (+21.7%), Tesla (+18.7%) and COS (+17.3%) all inside the Top 30. Further down, TANK hits an all-time high 13,347 units of its unique model the 300, with EV brands Geometry (+459.1%), Neta (+412.3%), Leap Motor (+375.4%), LI (+149.9%), Xpeng (+133.5%) and NIO (+41%) all up spectacularly year-on-year but not beating the monthly records they set last month. Citroen (+284.1%) and Exeed (+89.3%) also make themselves noticed in the remainder of the Top 50.

Model-wise, the Nissan Sylphy (-22.2%) and VW Lavida (-31.1%) are faithful to the top 2 spots they held over the FY2021 while the Haval H6 (-23.9%) completes a poor performing podium. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (+14.5%) drops two spots on last month to #4 while the Buick Excelle Yinlang rallies back up 9 to #5. The BMW 5 Series L (+37.8%) is up 55 ranks on December to #6 ahead of the Changan CS55 Plus (+57.7%) and Toyota Camry (+30.1%). The VW Sagitar (-32.2%) and BMW 3 Series L (+22.2%) round out the Top 10. Notice also the Mercedes GLC (+23%) up 24 spots to #14. Among record breakers not yet mentioned, we have the Wuling Xingchen/Asta at 16,150, the Haval Shenshou at 7,712, the Chery QQ Ice Cream at 7,483 and the Haval Chitu at 5,838.

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Full January 2022 Top 120 All-brands and Top 675 All-models below.