China imports April 2022: Market collapses -47.7%, Land Rover (-24.9%) best holder in Top 10, Mercedes Maybach S-Class stuns

Imports of the Mercedes Maybach S-Class shoot up 359.7% in April.

Imports into China collapses -47.7% year-on-year in April to just 44,737 units, leading to a year-to-date volume off -26.6% to 239,357 sales. Lexus (-55.7%) remains the #1 brand despite falling faster than the market and distances Mercedes (-32.9%), BMW (-52.1%) and Porsche (-41.6%). The  best performer in the Top 10 is Land Rover (-24.9%) overtaking Audi (-62.7%) to #5. Volvo (-34.6%), Toyota (-36.2%) and Mini (-36.5%) also beat the market in the remainder of the Top 10 whereas Subaru (-58.6%) sinks but stays #10. Below, Ferrari (-8.3%), Infiniti (-17%), Jeep (-29.1%) and Rolls Royce (-30.7%) also outpace the market further down.

Model-wise, the Lexus ES (-49.4%) easily holds onto the top spot despite plunging year-on-year. The Mercedes GLE (-31.8%) passes the Lexus RX (-43.6%) to land at #2 overall while the Porsche Cayenne (-17.2%) is up two spots to #4. Both the Mercedes S-Class (-40%) and BMW X5 (-53.7%, now produced locally) lose one spot on March to #5 and #6 respectively. The Mercedes GLS (+20%) manages the only year-on-year gain in the Top 10 and advances five ranks on last month to #7. The rest of the Top 10 underperforms: the Toyota Alphard (-47.9%), Porsche Macan (-60.4%) and Mini (-41.2%) all would rather forget this month. Below, the Land Rover Defender (-2%) and BMW 4 Series (-7.2%) keep their losses to the single digits just as the hyper-luxurious Mercedes Maybach S-Class (+359.7%) showcases a surreal year-on-year uptick.

Previous month: China imports March 2022: Bentley, Mercedes resist in market plunging -28%

Full April 2022 Top 30 All-brands and Top 142 All-models below.