Sales bound back after peak pandemic outbreak

Many major Chinese and foreign carmakers are seeing signs of a speedy sales recovery in China, as the world's biggest auto market bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers estimated on Thursday that total sales in April could reach 2 million units, up 0.9 percent from a year ago, and 39.8 percent from March.

China's largest private carmaker Geely sold 105,468 vehicles last month, up 2 percent from the same period last year.

Its sales in the first four months this year totaled 311,495, accounting for 22 percent of the carmaker's sales target of 1.41 million.

The carmaker, which owns Volvo and stakes in Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, said the sales recovery had driven its market share up to 7.2 percent by the end of the first quarter.

"We are confident in sales performance in May and the second half of the year as we launch new models and resume deliveries that were affected by the coronavirus," said Geely President An Conghui.

He said the Chinese market has vast potential in the long run and a slew of government policies have laid a solid foundation for the segment's recovery.

Geely said in March that 2020 may be one of its toughest years yet as pressure stemming from the coronavirus outbreak on production and sales persists.

China's largest SUV producer Great Wall Motors said on Friday that it delivered 78,804 vehicles in April, up 2 percent year-on-year. Globally, its deliveries in the month totaled 80,828, up 35 percent from March.

Sales of its Haval-branded SUVs totaled 57,098, with the H6, M6 and F7 as the best-selling models.

Great Wall Motors also delivered 6,070 vehicles under its high-end SUV marque Wey, up almost double figures from March. Its electric cars and pickups saw decent sales as well.

The carmaker said it has been exploring digital channels and making the most of its brick-and-mortar stores to boost sales during the pandemic.

International carmakers are also faring well. Sino-German joint venture FAW-Volkswagen announced that it delivered 165,734 vehicles under the Volkswagen, Audi and Jetta brands, up 9.9 percent year-on-year. Volvo delivered 14,698 vehicles in April, up 21 percent year-on-year. The XC60 SUV was its bestseller. The carmaker said its plant in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is working overtime to meet demand.

The trend has continued well into May. Volvo said its dealerships saw traffic rise 82 percent year-on-year during the five-day May Day holiday and received over 6,800 orders, more than double last year's levels.

US carmaker GM's two joint ventures saw double-digit sales growth in April.

SAIC-GM delivered 111,200 vehicles under Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, up 13.6 percent from the same month last year.

SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 127,000 vehicles last month, up 13.5 percent year-on-year.

The carmaker sold a record 5,000 vehicles in international markets in April, more than double the figure in the same month last year.

Zhou Xing, the joint venture's marketing director, said the company has been coming up with various measures to promote sales since the outbreak of the pandemic and they have worked well.

Zhou said the market will recover further in coming months and the company will see better sales as well.

Ford Motor's two Chinese ventures have reported year-on-year sales growth for April as well.

Changan Ford sold 20,465 vehicles in April, up 38.3 percent from the same period last year, Shenzhen-listed Changan said in a filing on Wednesday.

One day later, JMC, which is also listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, said it sold 28,028 vehicles in April, up 7.8 percent.