China Automobile Dealers Association: Automobile consumption index in May 2021 is 69.7

On June 1, 2021, the China Automobile Dealers Association released the latest "Automobile Consumption Index": the automobile consumption index in May was 69.7. As the automobile market entered the off-season, demand has declined. Coupled with the chip shortage that has slowed down the pace of production and sales, it is expected that automobile market sales will decline in June.

Automobile consumption index trend chart

Judging from the sub-indices that make up the automobile consumption index, the demand sub-index was 65.5 in May 2021, a decrease from the previous month. It is expected that consumer demand for car purchases will decline in June.

Automobile Consumption Index-Demand Sub-Index Trend

The store entry index in May 2021 was 72.5, down from the previous month. June is the busy wheat harvest season, and consumers have less time to look at and buy cars. In addition, weather factors such as continuous rainfall in South China and Southeast China have led to a decline in customer flow.

Automobile Consumption Index-Store Entry Index Trend Chart

The purchasing index in May 2021 was 70.0, down from the previous month. It is expected that consumers' actual purchasing intention will decline in June.

Automobile Consumption Index-Purchase Sub-Index Trend Chart

As the epidemic stabilized in 2021 and the economy recovered rapidly, residents' consumer confidence gradually increased, and automobile consumption demand was gradually released. As the weather gradually became hotter in June, the automobile market entered the off-season. During the busy wheat harvest season, there was continuous rainfall in parts of South China and Southeast China, and consumers went to stores to view and purchase cars less; market demand fell. In addition, the impact of the chip shortage affected more models, manufacturers slowed down production, and extended order delivery time.

Positive factors include the relevant policies of Henan, Shanghai, Hainan and other provinces and cities to promote automobile consumption. Henan proposed to support local governments to introduce policies to promote automobile consumption and implement the policy of completely abolishing the restriction on the relocation of used cars; Shanghai formulated and issued the implementation rules for subsidies for scrapping and updating old cars to promote new car consumption; Hainan issued measures to stabilize automobile consumption in 2021 to stabilize and expand automobile consumption. In addition, auto shows were held in Shanghai, Wuhan, Wuxi and other places in June, which played a role in promoting automobile consumption.

Taking all the above factors into consideration, the automobile consumption index fell in May, and automobile consumption demand in June fell compared with May. It is expected that automobile sales in June will decline compared with May.