China automobile industry suffers from C-19 impact
The China Passenger Car Association has reported that passenger vehicle sales, referring to cars, MPVs, SUVs and minibus, in China totalled 19.288 million units in 2020, down 6.8% YoY compared to the 7.5% drop in 2019’s delivery volume – bad news for the local steel industry.
Passenger car sales in China declined by 41% in the first quarter of 2020, were down 3.6% in the second quarter, while they were up around 8% in the second half of the year, all year on year.
The association said the downturn in PV retail sales was primarily ascribed to the earlier than usual Chinese New Year holiday and the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Total number of motor vehicles in China amounted to 372 million units, including 281 million passenger cars, as of the end of 2020. At the end of 2019, the total number of motor vehicles amounted to 348 million units, including 260 million passenger cars.
This means that the total number of motor vehicles in China increased by 6.9% in 2020. In particular, 33.28 million motor vehicles were newly registered in China in 2020, versus 25.78 million units in 2019, rising by 29%.
