China: SUV output, sales expected to break 1.5 m in 2011

The sport utility vehicle (SUV) sector - the fastest growing vehicle segment in China - reported sales of 420,000 units in 2008, and of 730,000 units in 2009, a year-on-year surge of 60 percent. The country's SUV sales are expected to reach 1 million units this year and likely to break 1.5 million units in 2011, Dongfeng Honda vice manager Liu Hong recently said in an interview with Shenzhen Economic Daily.

Honda CR-V, a compact crossover SUV, won back its previous first place ranking with sales coming to 102,013 units in the first nine months of 2010 in China, helping Dongfeng Honda, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., gaining a market share of over 10 percent in the segment, according to the latest data.

With more and more similar products entering into the SUV market, the market share of compact recreational vehicles (CR-Vs) will shrink gradually. Last year, sales and output of China's domestically-made SUVs both stood at around 670,000 units, CR-V sales exceeded 100,000 units, growing market share to 19 percent, Liu Hong said.

He however said that although the competition in the SUV market is becoming more and more intense, CR-V is still the only vehicle type that can achieve monthly sales of over 1 millions in the segment. Statistics say more than 10 SUVs will be put on the market in the second half, showing Chinese autoamkers' ambition to santch the lion's share.