Number of luxury cars in premium segment sold in China 2011-2017 by brand
Automobiles sales in China
The car industry had been an economic driver for years in China, mainly in terms of the Chinese economy. The sales of automotive had been increasing since many years, from around 1.36 billion units in 2009 to 2.89 million units in 2017. The industry’s growth rate had ranged from two percent to almost 14 percent in the last decade until the first decline began to affect the industry in 2018. Historically, most vehicles manufactured by Chinese manufacturers were for domestic use. In 2018, only around 3.74 percent of passenger cars and commercial vehicles produced in China were for exporting.
Luxury vehicle sales in China
In terms of passenger car sales, Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., the joint venture between German Volkswagen and Chinese SAIC Motor, ranked highest with over 2.07 million units sold in 2017. The Sedan is the most popular model for passenger cars in China, where over 3.31 million units were sold in just the first four months of 2019, followed by SUVs at almost three million units in the same period. In 2018, sales of high end luxury vehicles sales amounted to around 2.82 million units, with almost all being foreign brands, particularly the German brands BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.