China vehicle production topped 2 million units in November for the sixth time this year. Output climbed 1.2% from the same period year-ago to 2,160,713 units, the largest monthly volume since March.
Nearly all sectors reported losses in November, however. Car production tumbled for the first time in 10 months, down 6.9%, while medium/heavy trucks and buses saw output fall 15.2% and 18.3%, respectively. Light trucks were the only sector to post an increase over year-ago, surging 14.6% from like-2013, thanks to large growth in both the SUV and CUV segments.
SUVs witnessed the largest year-over-year jump of any segment in November, up 35.8%, as the fastest-growing segment shows no sign of slowing. Great Wall’s all-new Hover H1 SUV was launched in November with 6,196 vehicles built, making it the third highest produced Hover model during its debut month. This is the smallest SUV for the brand, and is expected to sell between RMB68,900 ($11,080)-RMB82,900 ($13,331). Production of the larger, more expensive Hover H9 SUV also began in the month, with output of 2,327 units. The H9 is expected to sell for RMB229,800 ($36,955)-RMB272,800 ($43,870).
SAIC GM-Wuling’s Hongguang van remained the most produced model in November, accounting for 3.4% of total vehicle builds. Great Wall’s Hover H series wasn’t able to snag the top position from the Hongguang, but did place second with a 2.5% share of production. FAW VW’s Jetta rounded out the top three with a 2.2% share.
FAW VW placed first among manufacturers in November for the fourth straight month. With 173,038 vehicles produced, the automaker outpaced second-place SAIC GM-Wuling by about 9,000 units.
Through November, China manufacturers built 21,430,839 vehicles, up 7.3% from like-2013.
