Market overview: Compact notchback models are one of Volkswagen’s key segments in China 09.04.2020: Volkswagen is the most popular car brand on the Chinese market. In 2019, Volkswagen sold more than 1.6 million notchback saloons in the compact segme

Volkswagen is the most popular car brand on the Chinese market.

 
In 2019, Volkswagen sold more than 1.6 million notchback saloons in the compact segment there, with six models to choose from

 
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there are signs that the Chinese market is easing: production of vehicles and components has resumed at almost all Volkswagen sites




European customers love compact hatchback models like the Golf, which has spent over four decades at the top of the vehicle registration statistics. In contrast, the world market is dominated by compact notchback models. Worldwide, they account for almost one third of all deliveries to Volkswagen brand’s customers – with 1.6 million vehicles sold in China alone. A total of six models are offered there to satisfy the high demand. A market overview of the notchback vehicles sold exclusively on the Chinese market gives a detailed insight into the differences between models.



Spacious cabins and trunk space is important to Chinese car buyers, this is why the sedan segment is way more important than the hatchback segment. Volkswagen satisfies this need with a range of models developed exclusively for this market. Through the joint ventures SAIC-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen and the JETTA sub-brand, the Volkswagen brand offers six individual models in the key segment that are geared to the customers’ tastes. In its largest single market, the Volkswagen brand grew its market share in 2019 with these vehicles.





Over 30 years of success in China


The Volkswagen Group produces vehicles for the Chinese market together with two joint ventures in China. In 2019, Volkswagen Brand and its JETTA sub-brand delivered 3,16 million vehicles in total. The company has a great history in China. The first car, a Santana, was produced in 1983 by a joint venture, which is now known as SAIC VOLKSWAGEN. FAW-Volkswagen, the second joint venture in China, produced its first car in 1991. In total, Volkswagen Group China employs more than 100,000 people in China.



The COVID-19 pandemic forced Volkswagen in China to suspend production, as has since happened in Europe, but the automotive industry is now slowly returning to normality. At almost all Volkswagen sites, vehicles and components are being produced again. In March, a survey conducted by the market research institute Ipsos has shown that the impact of the epidemic has changed Chinese people’s attitude to individual mobility.



 Two thirds of the 1,620 respondents who do not have a car of their own are planning to buy one within the next six months. Three out of four first-time buyers cite protection against infection as the motivation behind their purchase. The car has climbed from third to first place among China’s preferred modes of transport.




   
Christian Buhlmann - photo Volkswagen