2018 China Auto Sales Figures – By Model (All Vehicle Ranked)

China Car Sales Model Analysis for 2018

After discussing the 2018 China car sales ranking by brand, let’s zoom in on which models were the movers and shakers of the past year. And the Chinese car market is not only one of the most diverse with no less than 575 different nameplates in our ranking up from 531 in 2017 and 502 in 2016, but also one of the most dynamic, with big movements up and down the ranking. Of these 575 nameplates, 114 were newly introduced in 2018 and another 111 set new annual sales records. Four cars sell well over 400,000 units, another five sell over 300,000, a total of 21 cars sell more than 200,000 units in 2018 and no fewer than 72 sold over 100,000 each last year. And there’s a new leader on top of the charts, but surprisingly it’s not a crossover as we might have expected.

Top-10

After five years on top of the ranking, the Wuling Hongguang is knocked off its throne and the Nissan Sylphy is now China’s best selling car with over 480,000 sales. In 2017, the Sylphy (known as Sentra or Pulsar in other markets) was in fifth place overall and third place among sedans, but in 2018 it stormed to the top. Keep in mind that we split sales figures of the Volkswagen Lavida sedan and Gran Lavida hatchback/wagon, otherwise this couple would have been in first place with 503,825 sales combined. The top-10 exists of six sedans, three crossovers and one MPV. The Haval H6 fends off the Baojun 510 to remain the best selling crossover in China with the Volkswagen Tiguan in third place, #9 overall. Volkswagen has no less than five models in the top-10 but apart from the Lavida in third place, all are second half. The Sylphy is also the best performer in the top-10 with an 18.9% gain, followed by the Toyota Corolla with an 11.2% gain. Worst performers are the Tiguan, H6 and Hongguan, all with declines of just over 10%. The #4 of 2017 Buick Excelle GT is kicked out of the top-10 into 11th place and the #8 of 2017 GAC Trumpchi GS4 is down to 15th place in 2018.