Analysis of the Development Trends and Market Status of the 2022 Automotive Industry

What are the development trends and market status of the automotive industry? The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released the latest statistical data on the 2nd, stating that in January and February 2022, China's automobile exports continued to maintain rapid growth, with a total export value of 8.47 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.0 times.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on May 5th, data compiled by the General Administration of Customs of China's automobile industry shows that from January to March 2022, a total of 225000 vehicles were imported, a year-on-year decrease of 4.4%; The total import value of complete vehicles was 13.95 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%.

Automobiles are an important pillar industry of the national economy, with a long industrial chain and a very obvious role in driving economic growth. They are important consumer goods for residents, accounting for about 10% of the total social consumption.

Analysis of the automotive consumer market:

According to the first quarter data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the retail sales of consumer goods in the automotive industry reached 1073.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.3%. The capacity utilization rate of the automotive manufacturing industry was 72.1%, a year-on-year decrease of 6.4%. Since April, some vehicle manufacturing enterprises and component companies in Shanghai, Jilin and other key cities of the automotive industry have been in a state of shutdown. At the same time, dealers in the restricted areas have also ceased their business activities, resulting in a decrease in consumer demand.

On May 11th, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released data showing that the production and sales of automobiles in the first four months of this year were 7.69 million and 7.691 million respectively, a year-on-year decrease of 10.5% and 12.1%, respectively. Among them, the production and sales volume in April were 1.205 million and 1.181 million respectively, a year-on-year decrease of 46.1% and 47.6%.

The executive meeting of the State Council held on April 13th pointed out that it is necessary to expand consumption in key areas, encourage bulk consumption such as automobiles and home appliances, and no new automobile purchase restrictions should be imposed in various regions. For those that have already implemented purchase restrictions, the incremental quota for automobiles should be gradually increased. The meeting also pointed out the need to support the consumption of new energy vehicles and the construction of charging stations.

It is expected that as more places introduce policies related to automobile consumption, promote the consumption of new energy vehicles and expand automobile replacement and upgrading, the suppressed automobile consumption during the epidemic is expected to be released. However, it should be pointed out that whether automobile consumption can continue to recover ultimately depends on the economic environment, and stimulating consumption can only be an auxiliary means. This means that even if the epidemic stabilizes and car manufacturers enter normal production, it will still take some time for the automotive terminal market to recover.

The China Automobile Dealers Association believes that with the improvement of the epidemic situation in May, the previously suppressed demand for car purchases will be released. It is expected that car sales will increase month on month in May, but due to the uncertainty of the epidemic, sales may fluctuate.