In June, the heavy truck market continued its growth momentum, and the overall situation of the industry is still in a slow recovery stage.

According to the sales data revealed by various heavy truck companies, in June this year, China's heavy truck market sold about 74,000 models, an increase of 34% and a decrease of 4.4%. From January to June this year, the cumulative sales volume of the domestic heavy truck market was 476,000, an increase of 25%, and the growth rate was 1 percentage point higher than that of the same period last year.

 

 

Four heavy truck companies sold more than 10,000 units

 

In June, the domestic heavy truck market made steady progress, 8 enterprises achieved year-on-year growth, of which 4 increased by more than 50%; China National Heavy Duty Truck, FAW Jiefang, Dongfeng Company, Shaanxi Automobile Group four enterprises monthly sales of more than 10,000 vehicles.

 

Specifically, in June, SinotruK continued to rank first with sales of 19,000 units, an increase of 109% year-on-year. From January to June, SinotruK's cumulative sales volume was about 127,800 vehicles, an increase of 44%, and its market share was 26.9%. Shaanxi Automobile Group sold about 14,000 heavy trucks in June, an increase of 13% year-on-year, ranking second in the industry; From January to June, Shaanxi Automobile Group accumulated sales of about 78,300 heavy trucks, an increase of 42%, the market share of 16.5%. In June, FAW Jiefang sold about 13,000 heavy trucks, an increase of 31%, ranking third in monthly sales; From January to June, FAW Jiefang sold a total of about 910,000 heavy trucks, an increase of 20% over the same period last year, and its market share reached 19.1%. Dongfeng sold about 12,000 heavy trucks in June, up 26% year on year, ranking fourth. From January to June, Dongfeng Company's cumulative sales of 79,500 vehicles, an increase of 11%, the market share of 16.7%. In June, Foton Automobile sold about 6,300 heavy trucks, ranking fifth in the month; From January to June, Foton Motor accumulated sales of about 47,200 heavy trucks, an increase of 22%, the market share of 9.9%.

 

In June, Dayun heavy truck sales of 2,526, an increase of 59%, ranking sixth; From January to June, the cumulative sales of Dayun heavy trucks were 12,800, an increase of 17%, and the market share was 2.7%. Xugong heavy trucks sold 1,850 units in June, down 7% year-on-year, ranking seventh; From January to June, Xugong heavy truck cumulative sales of 9,070 units, an increase of 16%, the market share of 1.9%. Jianghuai heavy truck sales in June 1200 units, an increase of 81%, ranked eighth; From January to June, Jianghuai heavy truck cumulative sales of 9150 units, an increase of 27%, the market share of 1.9%. In June, North Ben heavy truck sales of 1,160 units, an increase of 13%, ranking ninth; From January to June, the cumulative sales of North Ben heavy trucks were 5,294, an increase of 46% over the same period last year, and the market share was 1.1%. In June, SAIC Hongyan sold 800 heavy trucks, an increase of 67%, ranking tenth; From January to June, SAIC Hongyan sold 4,388 heavy trucks, down 52% year-on-year, and its market share was 0.9%.

 

From the perspective of market share, in June, the cumulative sales of the top 10 heavy truck companies reached 71,000 vehicles, with a total market share of 97.1%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the same period last year, and market concentration was further improved.

 

 

The export market is the main support

 

In June, the heavy truck market achieved year-on-year growth, mainly for the following reasons:

 

First, in order to impact the half-year target, some heavy truck enterprises pushed up the invoicing sales in June; Second, due to the low sales base in the same period last year (55,100 units), the heavy truck market in June this year created conditions for year-on-year growth; Third, since 2023, the pent-up demand for car replacement has been gradually released, resulting in better sales performance; Fourth, the heavy truck market recovery is obvious, especially the natural gas heavy truck market continued to advance, in June to achieve year-on-year and month-on-month double growth; Fifth, since the beginning of this year, the export market continues to improve. In June, the export of heavy trucks maintained a strong momentum, and the export volume increased by more than 50% year-on-year, becoming the main driving force for the growth of the heavy truck market.

 

In the view of industry experts, China's heavy truck exports have changed from quantitative to qualitative. The "Belt and Road" initiative has led to increased infrastructure demand in countries and regions along the route, coupled with the release of a large number of rigid transportation demand backlog in overseas markets in the early stage, which has strongly promoted the growth of China's heavy truck export sales. In addition, China's heavy trucks in the overseas market has a certain competitiveness and market foundation, and the technical level continues to improve, the future export volume is expected to continue to grow.

 

However, it is worth noting that although heavy truck sales in June increased significantly compared with the same period last year, manufacturers' orders and terminal sales were far less than expected, and there were no obvious signs of recovery in the road transport market, resulting in a sequential decline in the heavy truck market for three consecutive months.

 

In this regard, some industry insiders pointed out that the recovery of car demand since late March has weakened significantly, June heavy truck sales decline, indicating that the market situation is still not optimistic, but also convey the future market or will be "cold" signal.

 

The market recovery in the second half of the year is worth looking forward to

 

Although the heavy truck industry is facing many uncertainties in the first half of the year, with the gradual recovery of the economy and the gradual release of consumer demand, the industry is still looking forward to the recovery of the market in the second half of the year.

 

The relevant person in charge of FAW liberation said that in the second half of the year, under the influence of gradual recovery of consumption, stabilization of real estate investment, continuous strengthening of infrastructure investment and continuous improvement of logistics and transportation demand, sales of engineering heavy trucks and transportation heavy trucks are expected to continue to grow, promoting the heavy truck market bottoming out in 2023. At the same time, with the switch of China's automobile emission standards, it will accelerate the elimination of national III and National IV diesel vehicles, bring replacement demand, and further drive the growth of heavy truck sales.

 

Foton Motor also said that with the acceleration of the economic recovery and the implementation of relevant favorable policies, the demand for heavy truck industry will recover significantly. In the second half of the year, under the role of stable growth, stable expectations, stable consumption and other policies, the overall sales of heavy trucks will achieve a significant increase, and the total annual sales are expected to reach 850,000 to 900,000 vehicles, an increase of 25% to 30%.

 

"In the second half of this year, driven by the gradual recovery of the logistics market, the demand of the heavy truck industry will continue to be released, providing a boost to short-term market growth." At the same time, the relevant policies to promote consumption and stabilize real estate are also continuing to increase, and new energy heavy trucks and overseas markets will still maintain a strong growth trend, and these favorable factors will drive heavy truck sales to steadily increase." Shanghai heavy truck dealer Liu Zhiwen told reporters.

 

When talking about the trend of the heavy truck market in 2023, Xie Guoping, deputy director of the Department of Informatization and Industrial Development of the State Information Center and leader of the commercial vehicle market Research group, pointed out that this year is the year of the recovery of the commercial vehicle industry, and each market segment will show a steady upward momentum of development. In the field of heavy trucks, with the recovery of the domestic economy, the entire logistics market environment will be significantly improved, and the situation of more cars and less goods will be improved to a certain extent, which will further enhance the enthusiasm of users to buy cars. In addition, 2023 is also a key year for the implementation of a number of favorable policies, which will form a positive driving role and provide strong support for the recovery of the heavy card market.

 

Originally published by China Automotive News on July 18, 2023