China In June 2010, Official: Up 23.5 Percent. TTAC Oracle Vindicated
The monthly Chinese car sales number confusion is finally over. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers CAAM has spoken their official word on June 2010 motor vehicles sales in the Middle Kingdom. We nearly lost confidence, but again, our patent pending sales oracle has been proven right. A week ago, our oracle said “that the Chinese market will come in at a growth in the low 20 percentile range.“ And what says CAAM?
“China’s total auto sales last month rose 23.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.41 million units, but were down 1.83 percent from May, CAAM said” to Dow Jones News Service. Passenger vehicles are up 19.4 percent, says CAAM.
Each month, there is a battle of the confusing Chinese car count. A week ago, People’s Daily reported totally weird numbers. Then came the usually unreliable China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATRC) and said June sales advanced by 14 percent. (CATRC is China’s new safety research center. Maybe they should refrain from citing sales numbers to protect their reputation.) These numbers did not at all jibe with GM China’s sales numbers which serve as a leading indicator. GM’s sales in June rose 23.2 percent – usually they are leading the market for a few points.
Today, the China Passenger Car Association said sales of passenger cars had risen 18.1 percent. Closer to the truth, but not quite. The CAAM has the last word, and in order to avoid confusion, there should be a bit more coordination. 23.5 percent it is.
Anyway, Rao Da, the always bullish secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association expects China’s full-year vehicle sales in 2010 to reach 17.5 million units. His reasoning? “By the end of this year, consumers may rush to buy cars before incentives expire.” And he may be right.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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...patent pending sales oracle... Hang on - you guys have got an octopus too?