game has reached the middle stage, and the domestic luxury car market has also handed over the "half-year examination" report card.
According to the latest data from the Passenger Passenger Association, in the first half of this year, the cumulative retail sales of the domestic luxury car market were approximately 1.4141 million units, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%, outperforming the broader market.
The Federation of Passengers and Passengers believes that the growth of retail sales in the domestic luxury car market, on the one hand, reflects the trend of car consumption upgrades, and on the other hand, it also reflects the shortage of luxury cars last year due to the shortage of chip supply. After gradually improving, the market began to strengthen.
With the rapid growth of the luxury car market, the performance of various luxury car companies is uneven. In the first camp of domestic luxury cars consisting of the top three BBAs of German luxury cars (Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi), BMW Group has delivered a total of more than 392,000 new cars in the Chinese market. Since BMW Group’s sales include both BMW and MINI brands, its total sales in the first half of the year are temporarily ahead of Mercedes-Benz (377,200). The sales volume of automobiles in the first half of the year was second only to Cadillac, temporarily ranking fifth in the domestic luxury car market.
Although the achievements are different, the transition to intelligence and electrification has become the consensus of mainstream luxury car companies. With the continuous introduction of new products and increasing investment of various car companies, the domestic luxury car market is entering the fast lane of smart electric vehicles.
Sales of BMW and Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles are growing rapidly
Judging from the data, BMW Group delivered more than 392,000 BMW and MINI brand vehicles in the Chinese market in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%. In the global market, BMW delivered about 1,214,900 new vehicles in the first half of this year, of which BMW brand sales were about 1,071,300. Based on this calculation, sales in the Chinese market account for nearly one-third of BMW Group's global sales.
The rapid growth of sales of new energy vehicles was the highlight of BMW Group's sales in China in the first half of the year. According to official data, from January to June this year, BMW's sales of pure electric vehicles increased by 283% year-on-year to approximately 44,900 vehicles. Among them, the sales volume of BMW iX3 and brand-new BMW i3 in the first half of the year both exceeded 21,000 units.
In comparison, in the first half of this year, the sales of BMW Group's new energy vehicles have approached or surpassed some "new force" car companies. For example, in the first half of this year, Weilai’s cumulative sales were approximately 54,600 vehicles; Jikr Auto’s cumulative delivery was 42,600 vehicles; Xiaopeng’s cumulative sales were approximately 41,400 vehicles; AITO Wenjie’s cumulative sales were approximately 25,900 vehicles.
Similar to the BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz also achieved sales growth in the Chinese market in the first half of this year. According to official data, from January to June this year, Mercedes-Benz has delivered more than 377,200 new cars to Chinese customers, a year-on-year increase of 6%. In the global market, Mercedes-Benz has sold about 1.0192 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 5%. Among them, a total of 102,600 pure electric vehicles were sold, a year-on-year increase of 121%.
"Facing the complex and ever-changing market environment, Mercedes-Benz worked closely with its dealer partners to achieve high-quality growth in the first half of 2023. In the second half of the year, we will closely focus on customer needs and launch 5 new models including the new E-Class." said Duan Jianjun, President and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service Co., Ltd.
As of the press time of the "Daily Economic News" reporter, Audi has not released the sales data in China for the first half of the year.
In the second camp of domestic luxury cars, according to public data, Cadillac's cumulative sales in the first half of the year were about 87,000, ranking first in the second camp. Just on July 10, Cadillac announced the adjustment of the price and rights of its pure electric LYRIQ. The price starts at 379,700 yuan, and you can enjoy 2,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan / 3,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan for home refilling. The deposit expansion activity will be held from July 10 to August 31. When it was launched last year, the price range of LYRIQ was 439,700 to 479,700 yuan, and the drop this time was as high as 60,000 yuan. This move is also seen as Cadillac's follow-up to a new round of price wars, and it wants to further boost sales through price cuts.
Lexus, which has been catching up with Cadillac before, has not announced its sales in China in the first half of the year.However, judging from the data that can be queried, from January to May this year, the cumulative sales of Lexus were about 54,100 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 24%. Based on this calculation, in the first five months of this year, the average monthly sales volume of Lexus in China was about 10,800 vehicles. Based on this calculation, in the first half of this year, the cumulative sales volume of Lexus in the Chinese market was around 65,000 vehicles.
Volvo Cars achieved good results in the first half of the year. In the first half of 2023, Volvo Cars achieved a year-on-year positive growth of 11.7% in the Chinese market, with a total of about 78,200 new cars sold. Among them, sales of new energy vehicles increased by 48% year-on-year, accounting for a 2.3% increase in its overall sales.
China will lead the global luxury car market
Despite the mixed results in the first half of the year, under the wave of industry transformation, traditional luxury car companies are also accelerating towards the smart electric track, increasing investment, and launching new products. Digitalization, electrification, and intelligence are the key points of the layout of luxury car companies.
According to the plan, in the second half of this year, BMW's third domestic pure electric product - the pure electric BMW iX1 will be put into production in Shenyang; and the pure electric BMW i5 will be made in China next year. In 2023, the BMW Group's pure electric products will expand to 11 models. Correspondingly, on July 18, BMW Group's new Shanghai R&D center was officially opened; in May this year, BMW's sixth-generation power battery project with an investment of tens of billions of yuan was also fully started in Shenyang.
"Compared with last year, China's auto market has picked up, but it is still full of challenges and competition is fierce. We achieved positive growth in overall sales in the first half of this year, and sales of pure electric vehicles nearly tripled year-on-year. In the second half of the year, with the further recovery of the automobile consumer market and consumer confidence, we will bring more attractive BMW pure electric products, and we are confident in continuing to maintain business growth." said Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China.
Mercedes-Benz will also introduce new products in the second half of the year. In the second half of the year, Mercedes-Benz will launch five new models including the new E-Class. Among them, the smart cockpit of the new E-class car will be equipped with the third-generation MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system and equipped with a number of China-exclusive functions. At the same time, according to Zhang Yan, senior executive vice president of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd., following the establishment of the world's first G-class off-road vehicle experience center outside Graz in Zhejiang in April, the AMG brand centers in Ningbo and Chengdu, and the AMG city brand center in Zhuhai will start operations in the second half of this year.
Audi, recently, according to the German "Auto Weekly" report, Audi is considering buying an electric platform license directly from a local electric vehicle company in China to shorten the development time of its models. Audi is currently in talks with a potential partner, but details have not been made public. Although this news has not been officially confirmed, Audi is indeed accelerating its transition to electrification.
According to previously disclosed information, from 2023 to 2027, two-thirds of Audi's global expenditure (about 28 billion euros, or 205.22 billion yuan) will be invested in the field of future electrification and digitalization; by 2025, Audi plans to invest 18 billion euros in the field of electrification and hybridization, and launch more than 20 pure electric models at the same time; from 2026, Audi's new cars for the global market will all be pure electric models.
Relevant analysis believes that traditional luxury brands still have a strong appeal in the fuel vehicle market. If they can catch up and gain a place in the new energy luxury car market, there is a high probability that traditional luxury car brands will maintain their current sales scale. In the first half of this year, the brilliant performance of BMW Group's new energy vehicles seems to provide more evidence for this judgment.
According to a report released by Oliver Wyman, from 2021 to 2031, the compound annual growth rate of the global passenger car market is expected to be 3%, while the luxury car market (including ultra-luxury cars) is expected to grow rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of up to 10% during the same period. Among them, the Chinese market will continue to play a key role. It is estimated that by 2031, due to the rapid growth of the number of high-net-worth individuals and continuous consumption upgrades, China will become the fastest-growing market in the luxury car sector, with a compound annual growth rate expected to reach about 13%. By then, China's luxury car market is expected to account for 30% to 35% of global sales.
The agency also said that in 2021, the overall penetration rate of pure electric vehicles in all luxury cars is about 6%, and this figure is expected to grow to about 46% in the next ten years. From 2021 to 2031, the compound annual growth rate of the luxury electric car market will reach 35%, which is almost 10 times the growth rate of non-electric luxury cars.
"Although the number of luxury pure electric vehicles on the market is still limited, it is believed that with the further penetration of electrification, the luxury electric vehicle market can be expected in the future. If automakers want to seize opportunities in the future market, they must fully mobilize resources in product design, business models, sales channels, organizational capabilities, etc., accelerate product and service upgrades, lead technological innovation, restructure organizational competitiveness, and make good use of the DTC (Direct to consumer, direct-to-consumer) model to reposition the image of luxury cars." According to Oliver Wyman's report.
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