Major German carmakers hit by steep China sales plunge as competition heats up - AP News
Major German automakers including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz reported significant sales drops in China during the second quarter. The decline is attributed to a slowing Chinese economy and intense competition from domestic electric vehicle brands.
Why it matters
The downturn signals a major shift in the global automotive market, threatening the profitability of legacy European manufacturers who rely heavily on Chinese demand.
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HONG KONG (AP) — Major German carmakers saw sharp quarterly sales declines in China as domestic demand weakened and competition heated up in the world’s biggest auto market.
At Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche, China sales for the April-June quarter plummeted between 30% and 41% compared with the same period a year ago, according to company data released over the past week.
For the first half of this year, they all reported a more than 20% year-on-year drop in China. The falling China sales have squeezed their overall profits and in some cases offset gains from other regions.
This also comes at a time when these legacy German carmakers are faced with intensified competition from Chinese automakers outside of China, including in Europe , as leading Chinese brands like BYD make inroads overseas.
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