Global car sales rise in July and Aug, but fall excluding China

Mark Victory

15-Sep-2016

Action Press/REX/Shutterstock

LONDON (ICIS)–New passenger car sales across the key global automotive producing regions of China, the US, EU and EFTA, Japan and Brazil rose in both July and August, ICIS analysis showed on Thursday.

Global New Passenger Car Sales in Key Auto Producing Regions

Date

EU + EFTA

US

China

Japan

Brazil

Total

Jul-16

1,163,087

609,290

1,604,500

348,163

145,614

3,870,654

Jul-15

1,184,373

669,195

1,268,600

355,892

186,878

3,664,938

Aug-16

855,466

600,983

1,795,500

279,374

147,863

3,679,186

Aug-15

781,575

687,998

1,418,500

271,386

172,615

3,332,074

Jan-August 16

   10,110,731

4,854,829

14,442,300

2,760,191

1,099,855

33,267,906

Jan-August 15

     9,381,996

5,298,493

12,782,100

2,879,030

1,435,754

31,777,373


Nevertheless, stripping out China shows a worldwide fall in sales in both months. China reports car sales as deliveries to dealerships rather than sales to end-users, obscuring the underlying demand. China sales figures may have been boosted by dealerships stockpiling ahead of the end of automotive tax breaks in the country at the end of the year – with dealerships betting on a rush of order before the tax breaks run out. The end of tax relief in China is expected to have a detrimental effect on car sales in the new year, and China’s economy continues to rebalance, which may also dent sales in the mid-term.

Global New Passenger Car Sales in Key Auto Producing Regions Excluding China

Date

EU + EFTA

US

Japan

Brazil

Total

Jul-16

1,163,087

609,290

348,163

145,614

2,266,154

Jul-15

1,184,373

669,195

355,892

186,878

2,396,338

Aug-16

855,466

600,983

279,374

147,863

1,883,686

Aug-15

781,575

687,998

271,386

172,615

1,913,574

Jan-August 16

  10,110,731

4,854,829

2,760,191

1,099,855

18,825,606

Jan-August 15

    9,381,996

5,298,493

2,879,030

1,435,754

18,995,273

New passenger car sales fell in all regions except China in July, while in August they rose everywhere except Brazil – which remains in economic and political crisis – and the US, where fractures are once again appearing in its economy. The fall in US sales was enough to reverse the rise in other regions excluding China.

Global sales excluding China fell by 5.43% in July and 1.57% in August year on year. Global sales including China rose by 5.61% in July and 10.42% in August.

In the first eight months of 2016, global new passenger car sales excluding China have fallen by 0.89% year on year, while they have risen by 4.69% once China is included. The fall in sales excluding China in 2016 highlights the macroeconomic fragility and volatility that has dogged financial markets in 2016.

The automotive industry is a major global consumer of petrochemicals, which contribute more than one third of the raw material costs of an average vehicle. ICIS tracks the movement of petrochemical raw material costs in automotive production both globally and regionally with the weighted ICIS Basket of Automotive Petrochemicals (IBAP).

ICIS produces a monthly Global Automotive report covering the major automotive chemicals markets, the automotive industry, the IBAPs and macroeconomic trends. For more information on the report and details on how to subscribe, please click here

Image source: Action Press/REX/Shutterstock

READ MORE

Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)

See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.

Contact us

Partnering with ICIS unlocks a vision of a future you can trust and achieve. We leverage our unrivalled network of industry experts to deliver a comprehensive market view based on independent and reliable data, insight and analytics.

Contact us to learn how we can support you as you transact today and plan for tomorrow.

READ MORE