China Automobile Dealers Association: September 2020 Automobile Market Insights and Price Monthly Report

Recently, the China Automobile Dealers Association and Guangzhou Wilson Information Technology Co., Ltd. jointly released the " Market Insights and Price Monthly Report for September 2020 " (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"). Through transaction price monitoring and analysis, it grasps the price trends of the automobile market and the price changes of key models, providing important basis for pricing strategy formulation, adjustment and inspection.

According to the published "Report", the overall passenger car market is expected to slow down from September as sales rebounded year-on-year; however, with the recovery of the macro economy, the market is still continuing to pick up, and is expected to maintain a small growth in the short term. The luxury market is growing well, and its contribution to growth is the most ideal.

The report also shows that with the recovery of the macro economy, car purchasing demand has steadily rebounded. At the same time, market demand that was suppressed by the epidemic in the early stage continues to be released. In order to further stimulate car purchases, terminals continue to reduce prices and promote sales, and the price index has shown a clear downward trend. In September 2020 , the overall market price index was 95.1% , a month-on-month decrease of 0.4% .

Prices of key models in the joint venture market fell, and the price index dropped month-on-month

In order to further compete for the market, joint venture brands have continuously lowered the prices of sedans and SUVs . On the one hand, joint venture sedans have traded prices for volume, and on the other hand, the layout of joint venture SUV " entry-level " models has been continuously improved, stimulating stable growth in demand. It is expected that the joint venture market will continue to recover steadily, with a slight decrease of 0.4% in September and a slight increase in October-November . In September , the overall joint venture market showed a clear downward trend in prices, with the price index falling by 0.5% month-on-month .

The focus of the domestic market shifted to the SUV camp, and the price index fell month-on-month

Under the pressure of joint venture brands, the survival space of domestic brands has been infinitely squeezed; in terms of sedans, the intensity of model launch or iteration has been continuously reduced, and more attention has been transferred to the SUV camp. However, with the improvement of joint venture brand SUV product layout and price reduction, domestic brands have ushered in a great test. At this stage, market demand has basically recovered, but the domestic market continues to fall. In September , the overall domestic market price fell, and the price index fell by 0.4% month-on-month .

Competition in the luxury market is fierce, and sales continue to improve

Competition in the luxury car market in September is even more intense. In the context of the " golden September and silver October " and the need to complete performance at the end of the third quarter, all brands are intensively carrying out marketing activities. From many 4S stores such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus, we can see that dealers are carrying out various car buying festivals, store celebrations and other activities, actively promoting product selling points, attracting new and old customers to the store, and providing different customers with different car purchase plans, such as replacement gifts and attractive low-interest financial plans.

From the perspective of terminal demand, the consumption environment is relatively stable, and the overall market performance in September was strong. At the same time, before the popularity of the Chengdu Auto Show has subsided, news about the Beijing Auto Show has come again, and sales are expected to continue to improve in October .

At present, the consumption environment has gradually stabilized. The sales performance of the luxury market in September was good. From the price level tracked at the end of the month, the overall market price index remained stable, without showing a significant price decline. The main reasons are from two aspects. One is that the price rebounded due to the insufficient supply of some models; the other is that the dealers transferred the discounts to the National Day and the Beijing Auto Show. In the domestic luxury car market, the price level has increased. Some high-volume models have reduced supply due to sales rhythm and adjustment of production strategies. The price index rebounded by 0.2% ; while the price of the imported car market showed a slight downward trend, and the price index fell by 0.1% month-on-month .