China Passenger Car Association: Pickup Truck Market Analysis in May 2022

According to the data from the China Passenger Car Association, the pickup truck market sold 42,000 vehicles in May 2022 , down 8% year-on- year and up 24% month-on-month . The impact of the epidemic has gradually eased, and the situation of pickup truck production has improved, which has promoted the recovery of pickup truck production and sales in May 2022. This also reflects the promotion of the industry after the improvement of the epidemic in Shanghai. The sales ranking of pickup truck manufacturers in May was relatively stable. Great Wall Motors maintained its strong leading position in the industry, and JAC pickup trucks showed a strong trend.

The pickup truck trend this year is relatively abnormal, mainly due to supply. The overall pickup truck trend this year is relatively volatile, reaching 207,000 units from January to May , a decrease of 10% from the same period in 2021 , and the production and sales performance is weak.

Under the general tone of the national automobile consumption promotion policy, the three guarantees policy and road right policy for pickup trucks strongly support the development of the pickup truck industry, and major automakers have also launched passenger pickup truck products. Driven by the increasingly active pickup truck culture, the pickup truck market consumption continues to grow at a high rate. On May 25 , the General Office of the State Council issued an opinion on further releasing consumption potential and promoting sustained recovery of consumption. The fourth point, Article 13 of the "Opinion" proposed : " Implement refined management of pickup trucks entering the city, and study further relaxation of restrictions on pickup trucks entering the city. Since the pilot lifting of the pickup truck ban in 2016 , the country's attention to the lifting of the pickup truck ban has risen from the ministry level to the State Council level for the first time. The pickup truck ban has once again ushered in strong policy support, and the full lifting of the pickup truck ban is expected.

The national pickup truck market has returned to the north, with strong markets in the northwest and northeast, and relatively weak market demand in the southwest, south China, and central and southern China. The engineering demand was sluggish due to the previous real estate adjustment, but the recent increase in local government investment has promoted the pickup truck market to be more closely related to finance, and the pickup truck market in small and medium-sized cities and county and township markets has performed well.

The pickup truck market will face great growth pressure in the coming period, especially as the real estate downturn has led to weak demand for pickup trucks, but pickup trucks still perform better than overall commercial vehicles. As the pickup truck consumption culture gradually rises, the efforts of various manufacturers to increase pickup truck consumption will also be reflected, and the effect of pickup trucks benefiting from the expansion of the passenger car market will also become more apparent.

1. Overall analysis of the pickup truck market

1. Comparison of national pickup truck market trends in May

In May 2022 , the pickup truck market sold 42,000 units, down 8% year-on-year and up 24% month -on-month . The impact of the epidemic has gradually eased, and the situation of pickup truck production has improved, which has promoted the recovery of pickup truck production and sales in May 2022. This also reflects the promotion of the industry after the improvement of the epidemic in Shanghai.

Pickup truck sales increased by 10% in 2018. In 2019 , the cumulative sales of pickup trucks reached 440,000 units, a cumulative year-on-year decrease of 3% . In 2020 , the sales reached 480,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 9% , which was a strong performance.

The growth in light truck sales in 2021 , stimulated by the control of overloading, is gradually coming to an end. In 2021 , pickup truck sales reached 550,000 , a year-on-year increase of 14% , which is a strong performance compared to traditional light trucks.

The overall pickup truck performance in January-May this year was relatively poor, reaching 207,000 units, a decrease of 10% from January-May 2021 , with abnormal production and sales performance.

2. Monthly trends of pickup truck market over the years

The pickup truck wholesale market fluctuated greatly in 2022 , but remained relatively strong in May . The performance of each month in 2022 was stable compared with the same period in previous years, with only April showing an abnormal trend, which also slightly improved the decline in future months.

Pickup trucks are means of production. Since there are relatively few pickup trucks purchased before the Spring Festival, pickup truck sales enter the peak season after the Spring Festival. It is also a growth point in demand for engineering projects and unit purchases.

The sales volume of passenger cars represents the quality of life and pursuit of Chinese consumers, but the sales volume of commercial vehicles represents the development status of China's small enterprises and small private owners. Only when the demand for commercial vehicles increases and basic people's livelihood issues are resolved, can the passenger car market have the possibility of recovery.

The pickup truck market also directly reflects the development of small private owners. In 2020 , the pickup truck market represented by Great Wall Motors has become the vanguard of the recovery of the automobile market after the epidemic eased. However, with the downturn in the real estate market and the interference of the epidemic, the operating pressure of the tertiary industry is relatively high, and the pickup truck market is also difficult.

2. Analysis of pickup truck market environment

1. The State Council deploys measures to promote consumption

On April 25, 2022 , the General Office of the State Council issued an opinion on further releasing consumption potential and promoting sustained recovery of consumption. In Article 13 of the fourth point of the "Opinion" , it is proposed: " Implement refined management of pickup trucks entering cities, and study further relaxation of restrictions on pickup trucks entering cities. Since the pilot lifting of the pickup truck ban in 2016 , the country's attention to the relaxation of pickup trucks entering cities has risen from the ministry level to the State Council level for the first time. The lifting of the pickup truck ban has once again received strong policy support, and a comprehensive lifting of the pickup truck ban is expected.

2. Treating vehicles the same as passenger vehicles Pickup trucks included in the new three guarantees policy for automobiles

The State Administration for Market Regulation has announced the new "Regulations on the Liability for Repair, Replacement and Return of Household Automobile Products" ( Announced by Order No. 43 of the State Administration for Market Regulation in 2021 ) (hereinafter referred to as the "Automobile Three Guarantees Regulations"). The regulations will come into effect on February 1, 2022. It is worth noting that the new three guarantees regulations have not only changed in terms of details, but also included pickup trucks in the three guarantees regulations. In other words, at the level of automobile management, the role of pickup trucks has been roughly equal to that of passenger cars, which is undoubtedly a favorable policy for the future positioning of pickup trucks.

3. New C6 qualification for pickup trailers

At the end of January 2022 , the Ministry of Public Security announced the "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driving Licenses" (Ministry of Public Security Order No. 162 ), which clearly defined the definition of light tractor trailers and the required C6 driving qualifications, establishing a legal basis for the emerging phenomenon of light vehicle trailers. The regulations will take effect on April 1, 2022. It will legalize the driving method of pickup trucks + trailers and give trailer drivers more experience in driving.

4. General technical requirements for multi-purpose trucks come into effect

The national standard "General Technical Conditions for Multi-Purpose Trucks" will be officially implemented on May 1 , 2022 .

This standard applies to multi-purpose trucks with two rows of seats, and single-row pickup trucks are not included in the scope of multi-purpose trucks. The standard clearly defines pickup trucks and sets requirements for size, gradeability, fuel economy, cargo box, tires, etc. It proposes detailed clauses such as " the length of the cargo box top should not exceed 35% of the vehicle length and not exceed 1850 mm" , " the seat spacing should not be less than 650 mm" , " the cargo box should only have the rear tailgate in an openable and closable state " , and " at least one rear seat should be equipped with an ISOFIX child restraint system fixing device " to ensure the dual-use attributes of pickup trucks for passengers and cargo and driving safety.

At the same time, the standard puts forward higher requirements on the collision performance, seat belts, child restraint systems and fixing points, seats and headrests, braking, vision, tires, etc. of pickup trucks, and makes it clear that the technical requirements in these aspects should be consistent with the relevant indicators of passenger cars; and because pickup trucks have higher demands on power, in terms of energy saving and environmental protection, the technical requirements for pollutant emission limits, fuel economy, in-vehicle air quality and electromagnetic compatibility only need to be consistent with existing standards.

3. Regional Characteristics of Pickup Truck Sales

1. Regional changes in the pickup truck market

The pickup truck market is mainly located in the northwest and southwest, and the demand for pickup trucks in the western region is relatively large.

At present, the demand for pickup trucks in the southwest and northwest regions accounts for more than 40% of the total demand , making them the two core markets.

The western market has remained relatively stable recently and has no obvious signs of contraction.

At present, the pickup truck markets in North China and the central Yellow River region are growing relatively fast, and the pickup truck market in Northeast China also has obvious start-up characteristics.

However, at present, the pickup truck market in East China and South China has not seen significant growth.

Pickup trucks still perform relatively well in the northern and central-western markets. This is because the market economies in the northern and central-western regions are relatively inactive, and demand is mainly driven by investment and engineering construction.

The development of private passenger pickup trucks needs to be further strengthened, and the recent Great Wall passenger pickup trucks are worth looking forward to.

2. Pickup Truck Sales Regional Analysis

At present, the main sales areas of the pickup truck market are still mainly in small and medium-sized cities and county and township markets, especially the county and township markets are still relatively strong. The small and medium -sized city markets in May 2022 performed particularly well, while the county and township city markets remained stable. At present, there is no obvious breakthrough in the large city market.

The market of megacities is gradually shrinking after the outbreak, and among the restricted cities, Tianjin's market performance is particularly outstanding, reaching about 20% of the restricted cities this year, and Guangzhou is also relatively strong. Markets such as Beijing, which performed relatively strongly in the early stage, are now in a weak state.

4. Competition Analysis of China’s Pickup Truck Market

1. Analysis of pickup truck manufacturers’ performance

In 2022 , the main manufacturers in the pickup truck market performed well. Great Wall Motors Pickup Trucks maintained its absolute dominant position steadily, Jiangling Motors' leading position remained stable, and JAC Motors maintained strong growth.

In 2022 , SAIC-GM-Wuling's new products gradually developed steadily and did not significantly change the pickup truck landscape. JAC Motors, Changan Automobile and others performed well.

2. Annual market share trends of pickup truck manufacturers

In May 2022 , the pickup truck market still maintained the trend of 1 super strong, but began to gradually show a trend of differentiation. Great Wall Motors' pickup truck sales are outstanding. In recent years, Great Wall pickup truck sales have continued to increase. In 2019 , it maintained 47% of the total pickup truck sales, in 2020 it maintained 43% of the total pickup truck sales , in 2021 it reached 33% , and in 2022 it reached 44% .

From January to May this year , Great Wall Motors had the leading share in pickup trucks, while Jiangling Motors, JAC Motors, Jiangxi Isuzu, Zhengzhou Nissan and others maintained a strong position. With the rapid rise of SAIC Maxus, JAC Motors and SAIC-GM-Wuling pickup trucks, the leading companies have squeezed the sales of the trailing companies.

Manufacturers with a 10% pickup truck market share currently include Jiangling Motors and JAC Motors. Jiangxi Isuzu and Zhengzhou Nissan are also very strong. Both of these are relatively strong traditional manufacturers in history.

3. Monthly trends of pickup truck manufacturers

Starting from 2020 , with the upgrade of National VI, the speed of product updates and iterations has accelerated, and pickup trucks have entered a period of market adjustment. According to the pickup truck market tracking of the China Passenger Car Association, Great Wall Motors pickup trucks occupy an absolute dominant position in the pickup truck trend. In the early stage, the Fengjun 7 pickup truck performed well, and recently the Great Wall Cannon has performed extremely well, far surpassing the Fengjun 7 to become the market leader.

In 2022 , the growth will mainly come from the second and third-tier markets. The growth will mainly come from the existing fields of engineering construction, municipal power, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, wholesale and retail, as well as new customers such as high-end, passenger, and off-road vehicles. The main models of traditional mainstream car companies have performed very well. Great Wall Motors' product innovation has achieved good results, and new products such as the King Kong Cannon have performed outstandingly.