China imports October 2022: Lexus (+59.2%), Porsche (+31.8%), Land Rover (+26.9%) highlight stable market (-0.6%)

Land Rover Defender sales are up 66% year-on-year in China.

Sales of imports in China edge down -0.6% year-on-year in October to 57,164 units, however keep in mind October 2021 was down a harsh -32.5% on the year prior. The year-to-date tally is now down a dramatic -19.8% or almost 160,000 units to 636,102. Lexus (+59.2%) spectacularly shoots up 59.2% on a particularly drab year-ago volume to reclaim the top spot it holds year-to-date. Mercedes (-1.8%) roughly follows the market in 2nd place and in fact the Top 4 brands are unchanged on las month and year-to-date with BMW (-29.1%) in a difficult position mainly due to the shift to local production of the X5, and Porsche (+31.9%) posting a stellar gain. Land Rover (+26.9%) is also in great shape and overtakes Audi (-37.7%). Mini (+45.4%) also shines in the remainder of the Top 10.

Over in the models ranking, the Lexus ES (+131.4%) is more dominant than ever, selling 2.7 times more than any other import in market. The Lexus RX (-2.8%) and Mercedes GLE (-26.4%) follow in the same order as YTD, while the Porsche Cayenne (+33.7%) impresses at #4. The Porsche Macan (+49.8%) does even better in 5th place, distancing the Mercedes S-Class (+152.1%), BMW 4 Series (+100.4%) up 9  spots on last month and the Volvo XC90 (-18.3%) in difficulty. The Mercedes GLS (-1%) is stable year-on-year and rounds out the Top 10. Below, the Mini (+67.4%), Land Rover Defender (+66%) and Porsche Panamera (+61.7%) stand out.

Previous month: China imports September 2022: Lexus ES (+56.1%), Mercedes S-Class (+42.4%) surge ahead in market down -12.3%

One year ago: China imports October 2021: BMW X5 best-seller in market freefalling -32.5%

Full October 2022 Top 35 all brands and Top 145 all models below.