Is the SUV bonus period really over? Maybe the next opportunity is coming soon

In the past few years, the sales volume of SUVs in the Chinese auto market has been growing at a double-digit rate year-on-year. The continuous sales growth has made the annual sales volume of SUVs almost catch up with the sales volume of sedans.

However, in March this year, the year-on-year growth rate of SUVs showed negative growth for the first time, and has been in a sluggish state since then, with large month-on-month fluctuations, and its market share has been eroded by segments such as sedans and MPVs.

Looking at the top 10 SUV models and the top 10 sedan models in July, among the top 10 SUV models, only the 7th Emgrand GS, the 9th Qashqai and the 10th Toyota RAV4 achieved year-on-year growth, and only the Toyota RAV4 achieved double-digit growth; on the other hand, among the top 10 sedan models, except for the Volkswagen Sagitar whose sales volume declined year-on-year, other models all achieved positive growth, and 7 models achieved double-digit growth year-on-year.

According to Wilson data, the number of new passenger car models launched in the market in 2018 will reach 194, including 69 sedans, 113 SUVs and 13 MPVs.

In July, among the top 10 SUV models, only the Trumpchi GS4 achieved a mid-term facelift in June, and the other 9 models have been on the market for more than a year, and some are even at the end of their life, such as the Qashqai and Toyota RAV4. Among the top 10 sedan models, Volkswagen Lavida and Bora have completed their replacement and launched, the new generation of Passat is about to be launched and the old models are sold out, and the tenth-generation Civic will be launched at the Beijing Auto Show in April this year.

New SUVs are launched frequently, but SUV products with serious homogeneity and poor quality are unpopular.

Affected by the increase in the proportion of second-time car buyers and the upgrading of consumption levels, the original SUV market structure dominated by domestic brands has been severely tested. The lack of new mid-to-high-end SUVs by joint venture brands has led to the loss of consumers to the sedan market, which is almost dominated by joint venture brands.

Wilson data shows that 70.6% of car buyers are men, and the proportion of men in SUVs and MPVs is greater than that of women. Middle-aged people yearn for SUV products, but the middle-aged people with considerable spending power have limited choices for mid- to high-end SUVs.

It’s not that consumers have no demand for SUVs, but that existing SUV products can no longer meet consumers’ needs for second car purchases or consumption upgrades. Once SUVs that adapt to market demand make a comeback, sedans will still be suppressed.

In 2017, global SUV sales reached a record 27.85 million units, up 12.7% year-on-year, and the market share has exceeded 32%. It can be said that since SUV sales in the US auto market exceeded sedans for the first time in 2016, SUVs have become a trend of choice for consumers around the world. SUVs are better than sedans in terms of space, passability, comfort, etc. There is no reason for consumers not to choose SUVs. In the first half of this year, SUV sales in the United States increased by 13% year-on-year, while sedan sales fell by 10% compared with the same period last year; SUV sales in Europe increased by 24% year-on-year, while sedan sales fell by 4% year-on-year.

Although Chinese brand SUVs have seized the Chinese SUV market with their low prices, can they capture the new wave of SUV consumption among second-time buyers and consumption upgrades with their quality and performance?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.