China Local Car Brand Sales Share 45.9%... Hyundai Motor's Drastic Change Over Generations

Among 2,531,000 units sold in January, 1,004,000 units were Chinese domestic brands
Hyundai Chongqing Plant Temporarily Halts Production... Effectively 3 out of 4 Plants Suspended Operations

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Despite the shortage of semiconductor chips for vehicles, automobile production and sales in China are increasing. The production and sales of new energy vehicles, such as electric vehicles, which gained momentum since last year, have also significantly increased.

On the 22nd, People’s Daily Online cited data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, reporting that automobile production and sales in January reached 2,422,200 units and 2,531,000 units, respectively, up 1.4% and 0.9% compared to the same month last year.

People’s Daily Online also reported that new energy vehicles, including electric cars, produced and sold in January were 452,000 units and 431,000 units, respectively, marking increases of 130% and 140% compared to the same month last year. Accordingly, the market share of new energy vehicles reached 17%, it added.

Exports also saw significant growth. In January alone, a total of 231,000 vehicles were exported, an 87.7% increase compared to the previous year. By vehicle type, passenger cars reached 185,000 units, up 94.5% year-on-year, while commercial vehicles totaled 46,000 units, a 64.8% increase. Exports of new energy vehicles reached 56,000 units, more than five times higher than in January last year.

A notable point in China’s automobile sales in January is the strong performance of Chinese local brands. A total of 1,004,000 Chinese brand vehicles were sold in January, a 15.9% increase compared to January last year. People’s Daily Online emphasized that the share of Chinese brand sales in January reached 45.9%.

In 2020, the sales share of Chinese domestic brands was only 38.8%, but it rose to 44.4% last year and surpassed the 45% mark in January this year. The rapid increase in sales of local brands of new energy vehicles, such as electric cars, appears to have boosted the share of domestic brand sales.

The increase in the sales share of Chinese local brands means that the sales share of foreign brands has decreased.

As of the end of December last year, the sales share of German brands was 19%, while Japanese and American brands accounted for 18.5% and 11.4%, respectively. With the rapid growth of Chinese local brands, Korean brands such as Hyundai Motor Company held only a 2.6% market share.

Given this situation, Korean automobile companies in China are facing difficulties. The Chinese economic media Zaijia Zaijing reported that Hyundai Motor’s Chongqing plant temporarily suspended production starting December last year. The Chongqing plant is one of four plants operated by Beijing Hyundai in China, along with Beijing Plants 2 and 3 and the Changzhou plant, equipped with a production line capable of producing 300,000 units annually.

Hyundai Motor sold only 385,000 units in the Chinese market last year. In 2016, Hyundai sold a total of 1.14 million units in China. Struggling with declining sales, Hyundai even sold its Beijing Plant 1 last year. Considering production capacity, three out of the four plants were essentially idle last year.

Meanwhile, total automobile sales in China last year reached 26.28 million units. After three consecutive years of decline since 2018, China’s automobile sales turned positive. Automobile production also rebounded for the first time since 2018, reaching 26.08 million units.

Chinese media forecast that the shortage of semiconductor chips for automobiles will improve from the second half of the year, and they are optimistic that China’s automobile production, sales, and exports will increase this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.