Luxury car market grows steadily
Luxury car brands remained steady in China in the first half of this year despite a lackluster overall auto market.
In June, sales of luxury cars jumped 24.9 percent year on year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association released Monday. The growth rate is higher than the 9.1 percent growth of the mainstream joint-venture brands and a decline of 8.3 percent for Chinese brands.
The association said that the growth was due to the consumption upgrade, replacement of cars and more luxury car models on the market .
Major luxury automakers, posted steady sales growth. Cadillac delivered 21,200 vehicles in June, up 51.5 percent year on year. In the first half of this year, a total of 114,600 Cadillacs were sold, an increase of nearly 2 percent.
Volvo,owned by Geely Holding Group, announced that it sold a total of 67,700 vehicles in the first half, up 10.2 percent.
The car maker said rising sales were driven by strong customer demand for their locally produced XC60 sport-utility vehicle and S90 sedan.
Toyota’s luxury car brand Lexus also performed well. In the first half of 2019, Lexus sold a total of 93,800 vehicles, up 36.5 percent year on year.
“Some luxury brands made promotions in June which boosted sales in the short-term. From the long-term perspective, the effect will be limited. Manufacturers need to focus on products and services," said Zhang Xiaofeng, an independent market analyst, "In the second half, the competition is going to be fiercer as more new luxury cars are launched."