2009 Shenzhen auto market hit a new high

　　In 2009, car sales of Shenzhen hit a new high that the registration volume reached 193,600 units, of which passenger cars were about 189,900.compared to the registration volume of 165,900 in 2008,there were 26,800 more.

　　According to another set of statistics data of late last year, Shenzhen had 1.41million cars locally. If license out of the city were also included, there would be more than 1.6 million cars in Shenzhen.

　　From the beginning of this year, motor vehicles have increased at an average speed of more than 600 units every day in Shenzhen. It is anticipated the net increase of motor vehicles in full year will be about 200,000 units, a new record high, and the total will exceed 1.65 million, a growth of 14%. The ownerships will top 1.5 million in April this year, making Shenzhen the third city to break the level of .5 million like Beijing and Shanghai.

　　Shenzhen auto market from bottom to peak

　　In 2008, Shenzhen auto market suffered a rare declination tat car sales dropped by 22,700 units than in 2007. However, in 2009, Shenzhen car market sparked again.

　　Considering the monthly vehicles registration volume, the overall trend of Shenzhen auto market was normalized gradually. Car demands before the Spring Festival were brisk. And then from June to the end of the year, sales were generally high, especially in December, when car registration volume reached a peak of 26 500 units.

　　Reporter learned from the interview, because of the strong sales, a large proportion of dealers suffered short supply that consumers had to wait longer that the previous years to get the cars purchased while inventory declined to an unreasonable level. Besides, some models were usually out of stock. Another feature of Shenzhen auto market was new models such as the new Regal, the new Lacrosse; the new Bluebird SYLPHY as well as Golf, CITY and Highlander always had significant influence. The sales performances of these models were all quite excellent. Some models, for instance, the Bluebird SYLPHY repeatedly turned into the top ten in the sales list.

　　In contrast, the sales of high-end cars and imported models in Shenzhen appeared to be stronger than in previous years.

　　As for imported cars, data from Shenzhen Customs showed that in 2009, Shenzhen Port imported 19,857 vehicles, a growth of 10% compared to the previous year. During the first three quarters, cars imported from the EU reached 9601units while from the United States 1812 units. Explosion even broke out till the fourth quarter. In November the imported cars came up to 3133, the highest month during ten years. Besides, the number of imported cars with a displacement of 3.0L or larger declined significantly while low-emission environmentally friendly high-end imported vehicles relatively increased in proportion. For instance, the sales share of the new BMW 1-series introduced into China auto market recently and mini series, the entry-level Mercedes-Benz B200, Lexus IS300 series were all enhanced among their own brands. In addition, the personalized SUV, MPV, crossover vehicles became a new highlight of the growth of Shenzhen imported vehicle market.

　　The proportion of various segments changed

　　In passenger car segment in Shenzhen auto market, compact cars were still the mainstream. Statistics showed that in 2009 the registration volume of compact cars was about 63,300, accounting for 33%, followed by 34,800 medium-sized sedans, a proportion of about 18% and then 18,000small cars, accounting for 10%. Besides, the registration volume of SUVs and MPVs were respectively, 10,400 and 16,900, accounting for 9% and 6%.

　　It is particularly worth mentioning that the proportion of medium-sized cars and SUVs increased over previous years. The sales of SUV models were even better than that of small cars in July, August, September, November and December. In December the sales of SUVs even reached a maximum of 2525 units.

　　In addition, referring to the sales, in Shenzhen the proportion of middle-class and high-class vehicles slightly higher than the national average. Statistics showed in Shenzhen’s monthly sales charts, most of the time. The new generation of Teana, the eighth generation of Accord as well as Camry successfully became the top ten, or in some months even top three. For instance, Camry was among the top three for seven months. In December, its sales even hit732 units.

　　During this year, it was quite common for a single dealer in Shenzhen to sell out 150 units cars in one month.。

　　According to industry analysts, firstly, at that time national macroeconomic was getting stabilized and the economic in Shenzhen was rebounding. Secondly, as Shenzhen citizens have the strong demands of cars as a means of transportation and can afford the costs of purchasing and keeping a car, it was not surprised that car sales got hot in such a consumer-oriented city like Shenzhen. In addition, Shenzhen is an extremely sensitive export-oriented economy. Therefore, in 2008 despite the declination in 2008, Shenzhen auto market recovered relatively fast. As for the vehicle segments, consumption potential of Shenzhen auto market was demonstrated fully in the whole year of 2009. For example, the sales of middle-class and high-class cars were generally strong. The levels of these models were usually higher compared to the national best-selling models. Besides, import cars and SUVs also performed quite well.

　　Automobile consumption patterns quietly changing in Shenzhen

　　In the year of 2009, the car consumption patterns of Shenzhen auto market quietly displayed four major changes: first, second purchase car ushered in a peak; second, energy saving became a major consideration for buyers; third, obviously, after-sales services got more concerns; the last but not the least, experiential activities were widely popular with consumers during purchasing behaviors.

　　In addition, concerns about the safety of vehicles, demand for car models’ personality as well as rising parking expenses also became important aspects of changing consumption attitudes.

　　Environmental concern substantially increased

　　The sharply expanding car ownerships in Shenzhen brought along more burdens on the city, including air pollution, noise pollution and inadequate road resources.

　　According to related statistics, car ownerships in Shenzhen has exceeded 1.6 million (about 1.41 million licensed in Shenzhen locally and about 200,000 from outside). Compared to the growth rate of motor vehicles, the total length of 6,000 km long roads in Shenzhen expanded only by7.3% in four years’ time. The average speed of main roads during the morning peak is 34.8 km per hour, peak early, flat peak 40.7 kilometers per hour and during evening peak about 29.9 kilometers per hour. Generally speaking, the daily average speed is about 35.1 kilometers per hour.

　　Industry analysts explained that the limitations of the environment are one of the main causes for the rising energy saving consumption attitude.

　　In 2009, new generations of environmentally friendly energy-saving cars generally sold well in Shenzhen. Take a look at the ten best-selling models in Shenzhen, energy-saving products, especially Japanese brands took up seven occupation.

　　Besides, a survey conducted by Shenzhen News Network, found that more than 50% consumers take energy-saving a decisive factor when choosing their ideal models.

　　And compared to previous years, consumption of environmentally friendly cars was quite eye-catching in Shenzhen auto market in the year of 2009.

　　The second purchase car ushered in a peak

　　In the year of 2009, as one of main changes, the second purchase car ushered in a peak in Shenzhen auto market. In this issue, the biggest change lied in the prospective owners were lack of brand loyalty generally.

　　A newspaper survey showed that 48.23％ of the owners would not take the same brand into account while only 20.08％were clearly in favor of choosing the same brand. In addition, for the second purchase, the levels of cars were improved significantly. The suitable target models with a price of about 200,000 including the new generation of Teana, Camry, the eighth generation of Accord, the new Lacrosse, the new Regal, Magotan and Mazda6as came into view of these quasi-owners, On the other hand, the strong sales of high-end luxury cars in Shenzhen market also reflected this phenomenon very clearly.

　　In this regard, market analysts believe that, although the auto consumption in Shenzhen market is rational and mature in some extent, overall speaking, at the present stage, the car brand loyalty and cohesive force in the market is still being built. Moreover, as various pedigree specific models of these auto brands in the domestic market are rather complex as well as differences in quality and personalities are huge, inadequate brand loyalty of these buyers is understandable. Shenzhen has been always leading the country in the transfer budget. Car levels are also higher than the national average. To a large extent, the upgrade of the models demonstrates the popularity of auto consumption and changing lifestyle.

　　Experiential activities gradually became hot

　　Different from previous years, in the passed year of 2009, experiential activities became increasingly popular in Shenzhen auto market. Besides, the market had sensitive reaction to this.. According to one survey, experiential marketing was not just limited to new car sales, but also extended to after-sales services. In terms of organizational form, test drive was still the main means, among which comparative test drive, all models test drive were the most popular.

　　The mainstream brands in Shenzhen auto market such as Nissan, Buick and Honda as well as some high-end brands like Volvo, Audi and BMW always paid relatively more attention to the organization of these activities.

　　Analysts considered this another expression that automobile consumption in Shenzhen is getting rational. The effects of the traditional modes of publicity gradually got weakened. Previously, most consumers usually got the information of the products through advertisements. However, but similar campaigns could not become major factor for consumers to resolve purchase. Nowadays, more consumers prefer to make a decision after personal experiential activities.

　　Individuation of models occupied a very significant position

　　Individuation is another distinctive feature of automobile consumption in Shenzhen, which mainly reflects on the aesthetic and design.

　　Last year, the sales of SUVs such as the new CR-V and Qashqai; passenger cars like the CITY, the new Regal, Beetle, MINI; high-end models such as the Land Rover Freelander 2, Mercedes-Benz B200, BMW 1 Series, Audi Q7 and Cayenne were all risen drastically. The micro car Smart Fortwo was even on the Shenzhen top ten sales list, which reflected the individuation came under special observation in Shenzhen. Statistical analysis from the dealers showed that distinguishing features occupied a very significant position during many consumers’ purchasing process.

　　Earlier, a survey showed that in Shenzhen cars are mainly for personal use. And the owners are younger now, which demonstrates the philosophy of fashion has been generally accepted and developed.

　　Parking problems carry weight

　　In Shenzhen, with the sharply rising car ownerships, shortage of parking space is getting worse;, and parking fees are growing as well

　　The reporters learned in the survey that most owners have been troubled by the insufficient parking spaces at residential or working places. For example, many persons always went to the working places in the morning or went back home too late in the evening to find parking spaces.

　　Some owners living within the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone usually will spend 300RMB in parking. If working and living near the first-class parking area, the monthly parking costs can be up to 700 RMB or more. If fees of temporary parking are added, monthly parking costs will be rather high.

　　Ordinarily, for one owner, fuel costs always ranks first on the monthly spending list. However, the share of parking fees is getting higher than usual.

　　Safety awareness enhanced

　　Rising safety awareness was another major characteristic in 2009, mainly in two aspects: firstly, consumers began to care about the safety of automotive products, and are willing to pay for the safe models; secondly, driving safety was enhanced in general.

　　Automobile in Shenzhen auto market, consumer began to consider more about the safety of automotive products than before. Some consumers would not only the records in advance, which some consumers in the target car model considering not only concerned about the scores in crash test and security configuration, but also make great efforts to collect the actual use of of target models, overseas vehicle collisions as well as the design, production processes and other information.

　　During the survey many consumers said that they would like to buy safety cars though priced slightly more, which was most profoundly manifested in the small high-end model area. Last year, the registration volume of small cars in Shenzhen was 16, 682 units totally. High security golf 6, new Fit, Polo, new carnival all sold quite well.

　　The traffic safety awareness and road safety also got improved in Shenzhen. According to authoritative statistics, in recent years, the four indices of road traffic accident in Shenzhen City declined entirely.

　　(Translator: Yalong/Jessie)

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　　http://auto.sohu.com/20100421/n271648901.shtml