China's auto market in 2024 is very lively, and the market pattern is quietly changing when car companies are "close to each other". In September, BYD officially surpassed SAIC to become China's largest auto group.
In recent years, BYD's sales have continued to grow rapidly, and its monthly sales since June this year have continuously surpassed SAIC.
According to the latest data, SAIC's production in September was 336,732 units, a year-on-year decrease of 24.33%, while the cumulative production from January to September was 2,649,208 units, a year-on-year decrease of 22.02%.
At the same time, SAIC's sales in September were 313,260 units, down 35.03% year-on-year, and the cumulative sales from January to September were 2,649,333 units, down 21.56% year-on-year.
In contrast, BYD's production in September reached 441,052 units, a year-on-year increase of 36.81%, while the cumulative production from January to September was as high as 2,760,910 units, a year-on-year increase of 30.68%.
In terms of sales, BYD also performed well, with sales of 419,426 units in September, a year-on-year increase of 45.32%, while cumulative sales from January to September reached 2,747,875 units, a year-on-year increase of 32.13%.
In fact, SAIC's declining sales have been declining for several years.
In 2006, SAIC Group's sales reached 1.224 million units, successfully surpassing FAW Group to win the first place in the auto market that year. In the following 18 years, SAIC's sales volume remained the first in China.
In 2018, SAIC's sales reached 7,051,700, which is the peak of its more than 30 years of establishment.
SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, and SAIC-GM-Wuling achieved sales of 2.065 million units, 1.97 million units, and 2.072 million units, accounting for 86.6% of SAIC's total sales that year, and the status of the joint venture is self-evident.
The scenery on the top of the mountain SAIC failed to appreciate too much, it was that year that the wave of new energy vehicles surged, and the once sales pillar failed to hold firm in the wave, and then sales began to decline.
In 2023, SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, and SAIC-GM-Wuling will sell a total of 4.529 million units, 1.58 million fewer than five years ago, and the total sales of SAIC Motor Group that year will drop to 5.0209 million units.
Like many joint venture car companies, SAIC Motor has not kept up with the pace of domestic new energy vehicle transformation for the first time, and the fuel vehicle business has been shrinking.
In the past five years, the sales volume of the three joint venture brands has shrunk by 41%, 49.2% and 32.3% respectively, and the overall sales volume of the group has shrunk by 28.8%.
The joint venture brand has been difficult to protect itself in the domestic market, and the sales of SAIC's joint venture brand are naturally a loss. What's more, SAIC's independent brand, which has spent many years of hard work, has not yet been able to carry the banner.
A few more words
The replacement of the old and the new of China's first car company represents the change of the era of fuel vehicles and the new energy era, and the "good days" of joint venture car companies that used to "lie down and earn" in China are also gone.
Joint venture car companies represented by SAIC Motor Group have led the development of China's auto industry in the era of fuel vehicles, but they are significantly weaker than other car companies in the wave of transformation of new energy vehicles.