On May 16, Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the Passenger Transport Federation, published an article stating that in 2024, China's macroeconomic economy was stable, moderate and positive, and auto market retail sales had basically achieved the expected good start trend in the first quarter. In April, the national passenger car market retailed 1.53 million vehicles, down 5.8% year on year and 9.4% month on month. Since this year, 6.36 million vehicles have been sold, an increase of 8% over the previous year.

There are frequent policy guidelines for the automobile industry at the national level, aimed at further stabilizing and expanding automobile consumption. With the introduction and gradual implementation of trade-in and end-of-life renewal policies, the Ministry of Commerce organized and carried out national automobile trade-in promotions, and automobile manufacturers and sales enterprises carried out supporting promotional activities. Many places support the trade-in of eligible cars through energy saving and emission reduction subsidy funds arranged by the central financial administration, and joint efforts with corporate promotions provided a good impetus to the car market around “May 1st.”

Due to the influence of companies' annual target tasks and emission escalation factors, market price promotion was strong, consumer purchasing mentality gradually recovered, and the wholesale and retail performance of the passenger car market was weak in April 2024.

In April 2024, SUV retail sales increased by 1%, 7 points superior to the industry. Due to the rising share of demand for SUVs brought about by the trend of consumption upgrades, car retail sales fell 11% year on year, which is 5 points weaker than the industry. MPV retail sales fell 15% year over year, significantly weaker than the industry by 9 points. The performance of cars is lower than that of SUVs, mainly the A0 class new energy cars, which have poor performance.

From a structural point of view, low-end consumption is sluggish, while high-end consumption is strong. The B-Class performed well in the sedan market; while SUVs were more high-end, B-Class and C-Class SUVs were stronger than last year.

I. Economic passenger car market trends

1. Market performance of A00 class cars

In April 2024, 74,400 A00 cars were sold, accounting for 8.93% of the wholesale share. Wholesale increased 72% year-on-year over the same period last year, and wholesale increased 5% month-on-month; in April 2024, there were 70,000 retail sales units, up 38% year-on-year from the same period last year, and retail sales fell 10% from the previous month of this year. From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 273,900 units, with a cumulative increase of 76% in wholesale sales; from January to April 2024, the number of domestic retail sales was 269,800 units, with a cumulative retail increase of 35%.

Currently, there is a clear trend of electric cars replacing mini cars. A few years ago, sales of fuel-powered mini cars dropped a lot, and the decline in the original boutique mini cars was even worse. Recently, the microcar market has become the main market for electric cars.

The A00 class market has returned to the competitive pattern of 20 years ago. Back then, Xiali, Chery (00175), Changan (000625.SZ), and BYD (002594.SZ) all had better A00 grade products. Recently, diversified A00 class main models and new products such as BYD, Geely, Changan, and Chery have shown outstanding performance, and mini electric vehicles are gradually showing incremental potential.

2. Market trend of the main models of A0 class cars

A0 class cars were sold 771,000 units in April 2024, accounting for 9.26% of the wholesale share. Wholesale was down 29% year on year from the same period last year, and wholesale sales fell 25% from the previous month of this year; retail sales of 50,000 units in April 2024 were down 44% year on year compared to the same period last year, and retail sales fell 4% from the previous month of this year.

From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 307,400 units, and the cumulative wholesale sales of manufacturers fell 8%; from January to April 2024, the total number of domestic retail sales was 182,000 units, and retail sales decreased by 25%.

The characteristics of autonomous electric vehicles replacing fuel vehicles are obvious, and the competitive pattern has changed from being dominated by joint ventures to a new trend dominated by autonomy. Early Japanese Toyota and Honda maintained a strong position, and the trend of autonomous fuel-fueled small entry-level cars has been relatively difficult in recent years.

3. Sales trend of A0 class SUVs

A0 class SUVs were sold 166,000 units in April 2024, accounting for 16.09% of the wholesale share. Wholesale fell 9% year on year from the same period last year, and wholesale fell 3% from the previous month this year; retail sales of 100,000 units in April 2024 were down 23% year on year compared to the same period last year, and retail sales fell 1% month on month. From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 602,000 units, with a cumulative decrease of 13%; from January to April 2024, the number of domestic retail sales was 359,500 units, and retail sales fell 19% cumulatively.

II. Trends in the A-class passenger car market

1. The market trend of the main models of compact cars

In April 2024, 363,000 A-class cars were sold, accounting for 43.61% of the wholesale share. Wholesale was down 5% year-on-year from the same period last year, and wholesale sales fell 13% month-on-month; retail sales of 310,000 units in April 2024 were down 15% year-on-year from the same period last year, and retail sales fell 14% from the previous month of this year. From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 1.3916 million units, with a cumulative decrease of 5% in wholesale sales; from January to April 2024, the total number of domestic retail sales was 1.3361 million units, and retail sales decreased by 3%.

2. Market trend of major compact SUVs

A-class SUVs were wholesale of 564,500 units in April 2024, accounting for 54.68% of the wholesale share. Wholesale increased 26% year-on-year over the same period last year, and wholesale fell 9% month-on-month; retail sales of 390,000 units in April 2024 increased 0% year-on-year over the same period last year, and retail sales decreased 7% from the previous month of this year. From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 2.254 million units, with a cumulative increase of 22%; from January to April 2024, the number of domestic retail sales was 1.692,800 units, with a cumulative retail increase of 16%.

III. B-Class Passenger Vehicle Market Trends

1. B-class car market trend

B-Class cars were sold 261,300 units in April 2024, accounting for 31.39% of the wholesale share. Wholesale increased 21% year-on-year over the same period last year, and wholesale fell 14% month-on-month; retail sales of 220,000 units in April 2024 were down 3% year-on-year from the same period last year, and retail sales fell 6% from the previous month of this year. From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 1,026,400 units, with a cumulative increase of 14% in wholesale sales by manufacturers; from January to April 2024, the number of domestic retail sales was 902,000 units, with a cumulative retail increase of 16%.

2. B-class SUV market trend

B-class SUVs were sold 267,700 units in April 2024, accounting for 25.25% of the wholesale share. Wholesale increased 16% year-on-year over the same period last year, and wholesale fell 18% month-on-month; retail sales of 220,000 units in April 2024 increased 7% year-on-year over the same period last year, and retail sales fell 17% from the previous month of this year. From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 1,113,900 units, with a cumulative increase of 34%; from January to April 2024, the number of domestic retail sales was 975,900 units, with a cumulative retail increase of 30%.

3. B-grade and above MPV market trends

B-grade MPVs were sold 461,000 units in April 2024, accounting for 55.45% of the wholesale share. Wholesale was down 3% year-on-year from the same period last year, and wholesale fell 12% month-on-month; retail sales in April 2024 were 50,000 units, up 2% year-on-year from the same period last year, and retail sales increased 5% from the previous month of this year. From January to April 2024, the wholesale volume was 168,400 units, and the cumulative wholesale sales of manufacturers decreased by 2%; from January to April 2024, the number of domestic retail sales was 173,000 units, with a cumulative retail increase of 3%.