China Luxury Car Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2020 - 2025)

In 2018, the sales volume of the Chinese luxury car market reached 2.82 million units, a year-on-year growth rate of 8%, however, the growth rate was relatively slow. In 2017, the sales volume of the market was 2.61 million units, a year-on-year growth rate of 17%.

In order to increase luxury car sales, the Chinese government has decided to implement VAT drop policy for the manufacturing industry which prompted the major premium car brands in the country, like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Lincoln, and Infiniti, have already decided to cut suggested retail prices on models sold in China, however, it cannot be anticipated that whether the price cut may boost sales performance in the future.

In 2019, BMW became the leading brand in the country, with sales of a total of 723,680 units which is a 13.1% increase compared with 2018.

Whereas Mercedes-Benz saw a drop in sales. Mercedes-Benz registered a year-on-year drop of 5.4% in February 2019. At the end of the year, Mercedes-Benz sold over 693,443 units.

In 2019, Audi recorded a 4.1% growth and sold over 690,083 units. The locally produced premium models like A4L recorded a rise of 3.0% in sales with over 168,189 units sold and Q5 L recorded a rise of 17.0% with over 139,297 units sold.

In February 2019, SAIC-GM saw its sales decline by 38.9% from FY 2018 to 11,007 units, however, the company still held top position in the second-tier luxury car brands.

The country’s luxury car market is led by European automakers, namely, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. As per the recent report from the China Passenger Car Association, the country’s luxury sedan segment grew by approximately 18.8%, in the first 11 months of 2018, when compared to the same period in 2017. Additionally, the premium sport-utility segment increased by approximately 3.5%, between January and November, in 2018.

In terms of policy and taxation reforms, China is considering a tax cut to revive its weakened automotive market. The tax cut may aid the country in supporting its automotive sector, which was dented by the trade war with the United States, as it impacted the consumers spending power.

Irrespective of the aforementioned trade war, the country witnessed a steady growth in luxury car sales. To mitigate the effect of the trade war, companies, such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW, are planning to increase its production in China, as the trade war is putting pressure on global luxury brands, including Mercedes-Benz, which exports US-made vehicles to China.

Additionally, luxury auto dealerships, such as Zhongzheng, China ZhengTong, and China Yongda, in order to mitigate the effects of trade wars and increase their profits, are selling non-US made cars. Additionally, luxury car manufacturers are also cutting down the prices of their vehicle models, to increase their luxury car model sales in 2019.

Other initiatives taken by the Chinese government, to boost the automotive sector and increase the sales of luxury cars in the country, are –

The government now allows international automakers to set up more than two joint ventures in the country, and most of the international players already have more than two joint ventures with their Chinese partners. Additionally, they can also set up wholly-owned companies in the country. For instance, in 2019 Tesla Inc become the first international company to operate fully-owned manufacturing plant without a local partner.

Currently, only ultra-premium luxury auto brands are imported in the country, which may benefit from lower import tariffs, as these brands are fully-imported from non-US factories.