Car makers hit bump in the road

ONLY two of the top 10 car makers in China have reached their half-year sales targets after major car makers aggressively raised forecasts at the beginning of this year.

But while Shanghai Volkswagen and Chery could celebrate midway, car makers - with a sales increase of 26 percent to 2.53 million units in the first six months of 2007 - will find it difficult to meet the optimistic year-end sales targets as the market matures after several years of development.

A Shanghai Daily overview gives a rundown on how the country's car makers have fared so far this year and what could lie ahead.

American brands

American original equipment manufacturers' brands saw their market share dip from 14 percent at the end of last year to 12.9 percent in the middle of this year, according to a report from Automotive Resources Asia.

First-half passenger vehicle sales for General Motors Corp increased 11 percent to more than 221,700 units in China compared to the same period in 2006. The increase was less than in the overall market because of a lack of new models.

As a result, GM dropped back a full point in overall market share to 9.7 percent in the first half.

Much of GM's market share drop could be attributed to sales declines in its smaller-sized sedans such as the entry-level Chevrolet Spark and Buick Sail.

Its high-volume Buick Excelle model and mid-size LaCrosse also showed some signs of slowing sales despite their overall sales increases so far, the report said.

Ford is also facing challenges.

Sales were up 29 percent in the first six months, allowing Ford to maintain a 3.1-percent share of the overall market. Sales of the Ford Focus were up 63 percent year on year to 44,428 units to make it the car maker's top seller.

"The concern for Ford is that the Focus is getting little help, with Mondeo sales off 16 percent in the first half, and its new S-Max people-mover gaining little traction," said Timothy Dunne, an analyst from ARA.

Ford is planning to introduce the latest version of its Mondeo to further push sales in the second half and continue its explosive sales spurt over the past two years.

European brands

Sales of the other early entrant into the China market, Volkswagen AG (which includes luxury brand unit Audi), have rebounded strongly, after the successful launch of new models that target different market segments.

VW's sales were up 25 percent in the first half of this year to 431,369, allowing the auto maker to increase its market share from 16.4 at the end of last year to 17.4 percent at mid-year 2007.

VW has been able to almost uniformly lift sales of its high-volume cars such as the VW Jetta, the best-selling model in China with 101,223 sales in the first six months, as well as its luxury Audi A6 and A4 entries.

With the introduction of the Skoda brand and its revamped Magotan mid-to-high sedan, the car maker should sustain momentum in both sales and profitability for the rest of the year.

In contrast, Italy's Fiat has taken a battering, with half-year sales down 35 percent and May and June sales down even lower.

The car maker is widely expected to continue to lose in the Chinese market until its cooperation with China's Chery's Automobile Co Ltd starts in 2009 and brings in new models like the popular Alfa Romeo.