Major German carmakers hit by steep China sales plunge as competition heats up
HONG KONG (AP) — Major German automakers saw sharp declines in quarterly sales Chinese due to the weakening of domestic demand and the intensification of competition in the world’s largest automobile market.
China sales of Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche in the April-June quarter fell between 30% and 41% compared to the same period a year ago, according to company data released last week.
All reported year-on-year declines of more than 20% in China in the first half of this year. Falling China sales squeezed its overall profits and, in some cases, offset gains from other regions.
This also comes at a time when these legacy German automakers are facing intense competition from Chinese automakers outside of China. including EuropeSuch as leading Chinese brands such as BYD to go forward abroad.
Lei Xing, an independent auto analyst, said the latest quarterly sales declines were some of the steepest ever seen for German automakers in China.
Volkswagen group, for example, saw deliveries in China fall 36.6% in the quarter to 424,300 vehicles; This sent its global sales down 8.6%, even as deliveries increased in Europe and America.
Automobile group, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany big bet He said it will be in the Chinese market reduced the model range by half after recent sales declines.
China’s extended real estate crisis and the economic slowdown has damaged consumer confidence; More and more people are avoiding big ticket purchases. strong competition in the local auto market and the fierce price war that has been going on for years. I also hit Many European car manufacturers prefer affordable Chinese car brands.
Porsche, part of the Volkswagen group, described China’s market environment as “challenging” in a statement, while Mercedes-Benz said China faced a “significantly weaker overall market and macroeconomic environment.”
China’s domestic passenger car sales fell 24% in the first half of this year to about 8.3 millionAccording to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group.
Consultancy AlixPartners expects that sales of light vehicles, including passenger cars, will likely fall about 10% in China this year as a whole.
As Chinese auto brands become increasingly favored in China, “foreign automakers will have to fight for every share of the market,” Stephen Dyer, Asia-Pacific leader of AlixPartners’ automotive practice, said at a press conference last month.
At a time when EV sales in China are outperforming conventionally fueled vehicles, German auto groups remain much stronger in the production of internal combustion engine vehicles such as gasoline cars than electric vehicles, said Chris Liu of research and consultancy group Omdia.
Independent analyst Xing said, “German automobile manufacturers are suffering the biggest blow.”
Dyer added that Chinese automakers also have a competitive advantage over foreign automakers because they update their model lineups much more frequently than their rivals.
