ALL EYES ON CHINESE CAR MARKET
- Geely outshines stand-alone competitors
- Chinese private brand outsells former top seller
Private Chinese auto giant Geely Automotive again outperformed its stand-alone competitors on home soil with its record-breaking new model destined for South African shores.
Geely again pipped its major competitors – both also available on the South African market – with its luxury brand, Emgrand, making the biggest impact.
Geely’s newcomer for the South African market, the EC7 to be launched next month under the Emgrand banner, last month again took the top spot in the Chinese domestic sales for March. Together with another stand-alone model, Geely pushed the former favourite – just renewed in its home market – totally off the Top-20 list. The rest of the list is made up of 18 models sold by joint ventures with European manufacturers, with VW and GM joint ventures taking up nearly 50%.
The Emgrand EC7, making its local debut in the middle of May, jumped to no. 18 on the list, followed by the top-selling Voleex from Great Wall. No Chery models, including its new QQ which has just undergone a major remodelling, appear on the list of Top-20 passenger vehicles.
“This proves that we are 100% on the money with the decision to launch the new EC7 in South Africa,” says Henri Meistre, Managing Director of Geely South Africa. “The days of cheap Chinese cars offering very little spec and low quality are over! We have been distributing popular higher quality vehicles such as the MK and LC series, supported by our 3 year/100 000km warranty across the full range, and they have proven to be popular. The new EC7 is expected to improve on that.”
Private Chinese auto giant Geely Automotive again outperformed its stand-alone competitors on home soil with its record-breaking new model destined for South African shores. Picture: Henri Meistre, Managing Director of Geely South Africa
Highlights of the top-selling EC7 include European quality and safety, a long list of standard luxury and safety equipment, and extremely competitive pricing.
“The world is taking notice of Geely’s new quality philosophy, and the new Emgrand EC7 is on its way to prove that,” says Meistre.
| Top 20 best-selling sedans | |||
| Rank | Models | Makers | Deliveries |
| 1 | Volkswagen Lavida | Shanghai-Volkswagen | 38,334 |
| 2 | Buick Excelle | Shanghai-GM | 29,875 |
| 3 | Volkswagen Sagitar | FAW-Volkswagen | 24,942 |
| 4 | Chevy Sail, sedan version | Shanghai-GM | 24,828 |
| 5 | Volkswagen Bora | FAW-Volkswagen | 21,098 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Passat | Shanghai-Volkswagen | 20,533 |
| 7 | Nissan Sylphy | Dongfeng-Nissan | 19,637 |
| 8 | Ford Focus, hatchback version | Changan-Ford | 19,100 |
| 9 | Volkswagen Jetta | FAW-Volkswagen | 19,039 |
| 10 | Ford Focus, sedan version | Changan-Ford | 18,714 |
| 11 | Volkswagen Magotan | FAW-Volkswagen | 18,227 |
| 12 | Toyota Camry | GAC-Toyota | 17,170 |
| 13 | Hyundai Elantra – Langdong | Beijing-Hyundai | 17,109 |
| 14 | Chevy Cruze | Shanghai-GM | 16,007 |
| 15 | Toyota Corolla | FAW-Toyota | 15,857 |
| 16 | Hyundai Verna | Beijing-Hyundai | 15,273 |
| 17 | Hyundai Elantra – Yuedong | Beijing-Hyundai | 14,749 |
| 18 | Emgrand EC7 | Geely | 14,436 |
| 19 | Great Wall (Voleex) C30 | Great Wall | 14,353 |
| 20 | Toyota Corolla EX | FAW-Toyota | 14,290 |
All the manufacturers except Geely and Great Wall are joint ventures with European manufacturers. Geely, Great Wall and Chery are stand-alone manufacturers. Geely is the only private manufacturer on the list.
