Dealer inventory levels at warning level in July, with Jaguar Land Rover at the top
2024-08-16
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China Economic Net, Beijing, August 16 (Reporter Guo Yue) According to data released by the China Automobile Dealers Association, in July, the comprehensive inventory coefficient of automobile dealers was 1.50, up 7.1% from the previous month and down 11.8% from the previous year, and the inventory level was at the warning line. Among them, the inventory coefficients of 6 brands exceeded 2 months, and the inventory depth of Jaguar Land Rover, Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng Nissan ranked in the top three.
Specifically, Jaguar Land Rover's inventory coefficient in July was as high as 2.55, and its inventory depth ranked first, indicating great channel pressure and inventory risk.
In 2010, Jaguar Land Rover established a sales company in China, opening a new chapter in its development in China. In 2012, Jaguar Land Rover's sales in China ranked second only to BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi), leading the second camp of luxury brands, and China also jumped to become its largest market in the world. In 2014, Jaguar Land Rover's sales in China exceeded 100,000 units for the first time, but until 2023, Jaguar Land Rover's sales in China were still hovering around 100,000 units.
It is worth noting that in Jaguar Land Rover's sales in China in 2023, the sales of imported high-end series accounted for nearly 50%. Among them, the combined sales of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, which are priced at one million yuan, exceeded 26,000 units, and the sales of the DEFENDER family were nearly 20,000 units. The hot sales of high-end models have brought Land Rover abundant profit performance. In contrast, the domestic models that should have been responsible for boosting sales have always performed poorly in the market.
Industry insiders analyzed that the high-end luxury market has a narrow audience and it is difficult to achieve a breakthrough in scale. Jaguar Land Rover's domestically produced models have not only failed to achieve a breakthrough in scale, but also lowered Jaguar Land Rover's overall profit performance due to the low positioning, price and profit per vehicle, resulting in a situation where imported models "subsidize" domestic models.
In the future, it is worth pondering whether Jaguar Land Rover can drive the sales of domestically produced cars and avoid falling into the "high and narrow" trap.
Beijing Hyundai ranked second in inventory depth in July, with an inventory coefficient of 2.45. After experiencing the glorious period of breaking the million-unit mark from 2013 to 2016, Beijing Hyundai's performance took a sharp turn for the worse. Today, Beijing Hyundai's sales difficulties are more obvious, with cumulative sales of only about 100,000 vehicles in the first half of this year.
It is difficult to find staff in Beijing Hyundai 4S store, Photo by Guo Yue
The sluggish sales have affected Beijing Hyundai's sales "spirit" in the market terminal. Recently, when a reporter from China Economic Net visited a Beijing Hyundai 4S store in Beijing, he could not find any staff in the store. A consumer who was looking at cars at the same time told the reporter, "This brand is no longer good, and there is no staff to serve." Another consumer revealed, "I just consulted, there should be someone on duty, but I don't know where he is."
Recently, a letter from Hunan dealers to Beijing Hyundai circulated online. The letter stated, "All Hunan dealers unanimously request that starting from August 8, 2024, they temporarily stop picking up cars from Beijing Hyundai and no longer accept vehicles that are automatically delivered..."
Dongfeng Nissan followed closely behind, with an inventory coefficient of 2.41. Similar to Beijing Hyundai, Dongfeng Nissan has also fallen from its peak of annual sales of one million vehicles, and its current market performance is not optimistic.
The inventory levels of the above three brands reflect the overall market situation to a certain extent. In July, the inventory coefficients of high-end luxury and imported and joint venture brands increased by 34.0% and 14.8% month-on-month respectively; only the inventory coefficient of Chinese brands decreased month-on-month, down 3.9%.
Source: China Economic Net
