After years of consecutive growth and record highs, the Chinese auto market appears to be shrinking as the economy slows. At the same time, U.S. automakers face a smaller market share.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that market share for U.S. brands dropped to just 10.7 percent, down from 12.2 percent in 2017. The Chinese auto market saw sales drop three months in a row as a stalling economy applies the brakes to country’s three-decade-long expansion. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said U.S. brands saw drops due to stale vehicle lines sitting in showrooms.
Xu Haidong, the association’s assistant secretary general, said Ford and GM haven’t refreshed their vehicle lineups in a timely manner. He added the U.S.-China trade war has not affected consumer sentiment, either. There haven’t been boycotts surrounding American cars, he said to further underscore the need to introduce new models.
The report noted a small percentage of cars sold in China are actually imported into the country, but retaliatory tariffs by the Chinese government on the U.S. have caused “pricing uncertainties” and kept Chinese buyers out of showrooms.
In the second quarter, General Motors said growth slowed to 0.7 percent but didn’t offer any greater details on its picture of the Chinese auto market. GM added it calls the Chinese situation a “softening” of the market. Ford, on the other hand, saw sales plunge 36 percent in August.
China has become an epicenter for GM profits in recent years. As the automaker continues to retreat from long-time markets, the company’s view has widely become one focused on North America and China. Brazil has also offered beacons of hope as the local economy recovers from a recession.
In the near future, GM plans to introduce 20 new electric cars by 2023 and it’s more than likely we’ll see all 20 models find their way to Chinese showrooms before North America.
Comments
Scaremongering and providing no corroborating facts to support your accusations is just bad writing and maybe even immature. I am starting to understand why certain people lost the election to a first-time candidate with 20% of the cash of his opponent.
The Chinese are worried because they have the most to lose. Just like Germany and the EU, who you claimed would hurt the U.S. trade wise, President Trump’s came out on top when Germany and the EU gave in and dropped tariffs against American cars.
Sorry, Sean, but your incessant politically charged writing is just getting old fast.
Why do you keep changing your name everyday? You’re like a housecat fluffing itself up to look bigger without putting more effort into your arguments.
“Scaremongering and providing no corroborating facts to support your accusations” … is that privilege reserved for trump?
I don’t understand. Too distracted by all the people that CNN insisted would be killed by tax cuts. Or those concentration camps for homosexuals that Don Lemon and Sally Kohn insisted would be part of Trump’s policy.
Bend over USA! The entire world is about to give it to you hard up the backside!!!!!!!!! ROFLMAO+++
This is just the beginning.
Everything the orange carrot touches dies. The Kremlin is laughing.
GM China has been posting very good sales numbers versus everybody else.
GM and Volkswagen are about tied in sales, both outselling all other brands.
GM China continues to pour out new products, to out pace the competition.
While the American economy is booming, China’s economy is struggling. This is in large part due to the tariffs imposed and proposed by the US (and anti-dumping measures imposed by Canada and the EU in response).
Their car market is slowing as consumer confidence slides. Perhaps they should try to negotiate with the US in good faith on a fair trade deal that everyone benefits from. They have much more to lose by ignoring the push for a fair trade deal than the US. The American economy is stronger than ever and getting stronger every day.
As they stated GM has stale products no different than in the US. I’ve owned more than 20 25 GM vehicles and I can honestly say they are stale looking now..
That’s far from the reason.
GM with its five brands in China continues to have the broadest and most atractivo portfolio, spanning the gamut of inexpensive, mid-range, and premium vehicles. The notion that the styling somehow fell out of favor within a year is nonsense. The lineup differs from that in the by 50% in China.
The portfolio in the US is stale? Sure, some models can be much better (Sonic, Spark, Cruze, Trax, Equinox). With the exception of the Equinox, those are all old models that will soon be redesigned or replaced. Meanwhile, the Blazer, Traverse, Silverado, and Malibu are the best-looking in their respective segments. The Colorado is quite attentive. The Camaro is a toss up. The Corvette remains highly attractive.
The small GM sales fall is smaller than the average for the market.
Ford sales have fallen because their models are overpriced, Jeep sales have collapsed as the Chinese have found out what they’re like.