Ugly China Auto Sales In February

From the equity analysts at UOB Kay Hian today:

Worse-than-expected wholesale sales in February. China automobile sales in Feb 11 came in lower than both our and consensus expectations with flat yoy wholesale sales of passenger vehicles (PV). The Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday is not an excuse for the poor sales. In Jan-Feb 11, PV sales only grew 9% yoy, vs consensus 10-15% for the full year.


Sedan and mini-bus underperformed. The sluggish sales were dragged down by sedan and mini-bus, which respectively saw a sales growth of - 2% yoy and -12% yoy in Feb 11 and 7% yoy and -5% yoy in Jan-Feb 11.


SUV and MPV remained robust. Due to a low base, sales of SUV and MPV grew 17% yoy and 46% yoy in Feb 11 and 23% yoy and 58% yoy in Jan-Feb 11 respectively, making them the best-performing segments among PVs.


Retail sales. According to China Passenger Vehicle Association, retail sales of automobiles fell both mom and yoy in Feb 11.

Click on charts to enlarge, courtesy of UOB Kay Hian.

Chinese New Year holiday is not an excuse?