2023 May New Car Sales in China: Chinese Brands Continue to Lead the Market
As of May 2023, traditional brands and Chinese startups experienced a surge in sales, outperforming their counterparts from last year. In fifth-place ranking, Honda's new sedan, Civic e-Segway LE, broke its ground as the first Japanese pure electric sedan debuted on Chinese market.
Traditional Brands Capture Top Spots
Top three spots for overall car sales are taken by Byd, Geely and Chery. Their sales continue their upward trajectory, with 348393 units sold in May as the leader. The brand's latest discounts brought them an increased number of buyers.
Byd sales include:
- Byd Tang L
- Byd SONG Pro DM -i
- Byd Quan PLUS DM-i
- Byd Song L
Geely rankings came second due to 188670 units sold in May, but down slightly compared to 192796 the previous month.
Chery achieved a sales rank of third place and reached the mark of breaking 126000 units sold.
Besides these rankings, various brands still capture major share in overall car market.
Cross-Border Expansion
Due to strong sales performance, companies such as Geely, Chery and BYD continue expanding internationally. The largest sales region comes from international trade.
Rapid Growth Across the Board
Byd continued its impressive sales growth by reaching a new peak of 3.85 million for the first five months, surpassing domestic giants like Toyota in market leadership.
On the other hand, Geely and Chery have maintained a consistent growth trajectory with 2.28 million units sold for each fifth-month.
Meanwhile, Chery leads Toyota overall thanks to their substantial share in emerging markets.
Competitive Battle Between Established Brands and Startups
Chery pushed the Toyota-led Chinese market into an unprecedented sales boom by topping the new-energy vehicle (NEV) and electric vehicles (EVs) segments for a fourth month.
Byd continued its winning streak of holding first place in EV segment, while Geely took second on NEVs.
However, this trend is expected to reverse itself since Toyota may soon surpass them with their massive investments into their Chinese manufacturing plant.
