Lei Kai both broke 200,000, Mercedes-Benz and BMW both won the championship, luxury brands are still popular in 2019

It is said that the auto market will be sluggish in 2019 and it will be difficult to sell cars. This is indeed true from the data. On January 9, the Passenger Car Association announced the cumulative sales of narrowly defined passenger cars for 2019. The final figure was fixed at 20.698 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 7.4%. Broken down into each section and each brand, there were mixed results, but the luxury brand camp still achieved a slight growth of 7.6%, and the top spot in sales also changed hands.

The tide is turning, BMW is winning sales?

Let’s start with the top three German brands in the first camp. For a long time, whether it is in the Chinese market or expanding to the global market, the fierce battle between BBA has always been talked about by everyone. In addition to sales data and growth rate, the sales champion is the most concerned point. In the Chinese market, Audi has been the champion for many years. Even though Mercedes-Benz performed very strongly in 2018, Audi still beat the pack and won the sales crown. But this year, Audi failed to defend its title, and the winner was not Mercedes-Benz, but BMW!

Judging from official data, BBA has achieved growth. Audi's sales in China (including Hong Kong) exceeded 690,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%. Among them, sales in the mainland market reached 688,888 units, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%. Domestic models accounted for 91.5% of sales, reaching 630,800 units. Broken down into models, A4L has sold nearly 170,000 units throughout the year; Q5L and A8L have experienced considerable growth; and the three models A3, Q3 and Q2L have also jointly provided sales of nearly 200,000 units.

As for Mercedes-Benz, its sales (including smart) in China in 2019 were 702,088 units, of which the cumulative sales of the Mercedes-Benz brand were 693,443 units, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. Eight domestic models account for more than three-quarters of the brand's total sales, with the C-Class, E-Class and GLC being the most popular.

I thought that Mercedes-Benz’s sales in China were already very strong, but I never expected that the BMW Group would stage a comeback. In 2019, BMW's sales in China (including MINI) reached 723,680 units, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%. Among them, the X series products achieved a year-on-year growth of more than 50%, with a total of more than 210,000 units of X3 and X1 delivered throughout the year. In terms of sedans, the 5 Series and 3 Series delivered a total of more than 300,000 units throughout the year. The MINI brand also experienced year-on-year growth of more than 11%, with cumulative sales for the year reaching 32,678 vehicles.

Judging from the data above, BMW did win, but what it won was the cumulative sales of the entire group. If calculated based on a single brand, Mercedes-Benz is still the sales leader of a single brand, but its lead is not large. In fact, the gap between the top three is not big. It is not an exaggeration to say that all three are winners. After all, they all have considerable year-on-year growth. Of course, we are talking about the Chinese market here. If we look at the global market, it is a different matter.

Lei Kai is fighting fiercely, both breaking 200,000

The first camp is fighting fiercely, and the second camp is also fighting fiercely. In 2019, two car companies sold more than 200,000 vehicles in China, namely Cadillac and Lexus. According to data provided by General Motors, Cadillac's cumulative sales in China in 2019 exceeded 210,000 vehicles. Among them, the cumulative sales of CT6 reached 22,637 units, a year-on-year increase of 31.4%. The CT5 and XT6, which were launched in the second half of last year, each achieved sales of 17,000 units. The XT5 and XT4 combined have provided sales of more than 100,000 units. It can be seen that Cadillac's sales rely heavily on its SUV models.

Followed by Lexus, its cumulative sales in China in 2019 reached 200,521 units, a year-on-year increase of 25%. This is the first time Lexus’ annual sales in China have exceeded 200,000 units. At the same time, in June 2019, its sales in China exceeded the 1 million mark, which is not easy for a car brand that sells products purely through imports. It is also worth mentioning that the sales volume of Lexus’ hybrid models reached 69,027 units, accounting for more than 34% of the total sales. The gap between it and Cadillac is less than 12,000 units, and the competition between the two giants will become more intense in 2020.

In addition, Volvo’s sales in China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) reached 161,436 vehicles. Among them, the annual sales volume in the mainland market exceeded 150,000 vehicles for the first time, reaching 154,559 vehicles.

XC60 and S90 combined have provided sales of more than 105,000 units. XC90 and XC40 also delivered nearly 30,000 units. As for Jaguar Land Rover, it stopped its sales decline in the second half of last year and achieved double-digit sales growth for six consecutive months before July. However, total sales for the year still dropped sharply by 13.5% year-on-year.

Where will the sales growth point be in 2020?

Now that the sales volume for 2019 has been released, are there any new sales growth points in 2020? We can get a rough idea from the new car plans announced by various car companies. As for the top three German brands, 2020 will be a product year for Audi, which will launch 18 models in China. These include the mid-term facelift of the A4L and Q7, and the coupe version of the Q3, the Q3 Sportback, will also be introduced and produced domestically by FAW-Volkswagen-Audi. As for Mercedes-Benz, the new GLA, which was unveiled in December last year, will be produced in China this year.

Lexus’ first pure electric model, the UX 300e, has made its world debut at the 2019 Guangzhou Auto Show and will be launched in the second quarter of this year. The flagship luxury MPV, LM, which completed its world premiere at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, will be officially launched on February 24. As for Cadillac, its new mid-size car CT4 is expected to be launched within this year. Jaguar Land Rover will launch the mid-term refresh of the Discovery in the first quarter of this year, and the new generation of Defender will be launched in the second quarter. In addition, two new cars will be introduced into the country.

Written at the end

Since 2018, China’s auto market has experienced negative growth for two consecutive years. Although many car companies have delivered impressive results, there is still a lot of price paid behind the glamor. The Passenger Car Association also predicts that under the best circumstances, the auto market will recover to a certain extent in 2020. However, there are still many uncertain factors, and the challenges that car companies face are still considerable.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.