Global auto market in August: Europe, the United States and Japan are falling and China and India are growing against the trend.

SMM News: August is usually the off-season for car sales, and the recovery of the global auto market is beginning to show weakness. Data show that car sales in Europe, the US and Japan all showed a downward trend in August, although China and India appeared to escape the traditional off-season curse, with double-digit sales growth bucking the trend.

China: 11.6% year-on-year increase in sales to break the off-season curse

According to the latest figures from the China Automobile Association, car sales in China reached 2.186 million in August, up 11.6% from a year earlier, breaking the traditional off-season curse after July and maintaining a year-on-year growth trend. Of this total, passenger vehicle sales reached 1.755 million, up 6 per cent from the same period last year, the fourth consecutive month of positive growth, while commercial vehicle sales reached a monthly all-time high of 431000, up 41.6 per cent from the same period last year.

Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Automobile Association, pointed out that judging from the current momentum, the development of the automobile consumer market is still good, and recent activities such as the introduction of new energy vehicles to the countryside have superimposed the policies issued by various localities to promote consumption. have effectively enhanced people's consumer confidence. The Beijing International Auto Show, which opens in late September, will promote the full launch of new products by enterprises, superimposing the demand for self-driving trips brought about by the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, which will further boost car consumption and increase the popularity of the "Golden Nine Silver Ten" consumption season.

India: sales up 20% year-on-year for the first time since the outbreak

India's auto industry rebounded strongly after the nationwide blockade was gradually relaxed. In August, a total of 34,376 new cars were sold in the country, up 19.7 per cent from a year earlier and 18.6 per cent from a month earlier, marking the first year-on-year increase in monthly sales since the novel coronavirus epidemic.

In terms of the performance of car brands, although only a few brands achieved year-on-year growth, sales of almost all brands showed month-on-month growth. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia, Renault and Mingjue all achieved double-digit growth, with Tata Motors showing the most eye-catching performance, with sales up 154% year-on-year.

Although India achieved a considerable recovery in car sales in August, the real test is whether it can continue to grow in the coming months.

Germany: 20% decline in sales compared with the same period last year faces severe challenges

New car sales in Germany fell 20 per cent year-on-year to 251044 in August, according to figures released by (KBA), the German transport ministry. As of August, cumulative car sales in Germany fell 29 per cent year-on-year to 1.77 million units in 2020.

The performance of major car brands varied, with brands such as Tesla (up 454 per cent), BMW (up 15 per cent), Nissan (up 14 per cent) and DS (up 12 per cent) as winners, while brands such as Dacia (down 64 per cent), Porsche (down 50 per cent), Opel (down 47 per cent) and Seattle (down 40 per cent) fell sharply.

The German car market has suffered double-digit declines for several months in a row, and the decline in sales in July (- 5.4%) seems to show signs of slowing, but the August decline is once again a reminder that, as Europe's largest car market, the German car market still faces serious challenges.

UK: sales fell 6% year-on-year in case of reversal after the first rise

New car sales in the UK fell 6 per cent in August from a year earlier, with only more than 87000 new cars sold, a "disappointing" reversal after dealers resumed operations and sales rebounded in July, according to (SMMT), an association of British automakers and traders.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, said: "this decline in sales is disappointing, especially after a brief rebound in July (up 11.3% from a year earlier). However, given that August is a relatively off-season for new car sales, it is not possible to draw too many conclusions from these figures alone. " He said that when the peak sales season arrives in September, it will better reflect the true state of the car market.

France: sales of car incentives fall by 20% when they expire

New car sales in France fell 20 per cent to 103631 in August from a year earlier, in part because government incentives for car purchases expired at the end of July, according to (CCFA), the French carmakers' association. In terms of the performance of car brands, only Hyundai, Kia, Volvo and Toyota saw sales rise.

Although sales fell significantly in August, the overall situation is close to the normal level in the same period in previous years. August is usually the slowest month for sales in France. Cumulative sales in France fell 32 per cent to 998409 in the year to August, and sales for the whole of 2020 are expected to fall 25-30 per cent year-on-year, CCFA said.

Spain: sales are still down 10% under the incentive of the swap policy

New car sales in Spain fell 10 per cent to 66925 in august, despite the government's stimulus plan to buy cars, according to (ANFAC), a Spanish automobile industry association.

The Spanish government announced an economic stimulus package worth about $4.2 billion in mid-June, which came into effect on July 15th. The plan includes a car swap fund of 250 million ou yuan, encouraging consumers to replace their 10-year-old cars with newer and more fuel-efficient cars, a subsidy of 800 euros for owners of new gasoline and diesel cars and 4000 euros for owners of zero-emission cars. ANFAC said the stimulus package still has enough money to boost car sales until the end of the year.

Italy: sales fell 0.4% year-on-year, best performance in six months

New car sales in Italy fell just 0.4 per cent in August from a year earlier to 88801, according to figures released by Italy's transport ministry. Of this total, sales from private consumers surged to 63212, sales from short-term leasing companies rose 0.3 per cent to 3633 vehicles, sales from long-term leasing companies fell 3 per cent year-on-year, and sales from commercial customers rose 13 per cent year-on-year.

ANFIA, the Italian Association of Automobile Manufacturers, took a relatively positive view: "after five consecutive months of double-digit declines from March to July, August is the first time that the Italian car market has stabilized this year." Italy's consumer and business confidence index rose in August, according to a monthly survey by ISTAT, a data firm.

Year-on-year changes in new car sales in France, Italy and Spain from January to August 2020 (yellow: Spain; green: Italy; blue: France; photo source: autovistagroup.com)

Russia: sales fell 0.5% to become Europe's second largest car market

New car sales in Russia totaled 137517 in August, down 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to Avtostat. Although the recovery in the Russian car market has slowed from 6.8 per cent sales growth in July, Russia jumped to become Europe's second-largest car market that month, surpassing France, the UK and Italy and second only to Germany.

Traditionally, August is also an off-season for new car sales in Russia, and with the help of government support measures, new car sales in September will provide a clearer indication of the recovery of the Russian car market and developments in the coming months.

Us: sales are down 20% year-on-year and recovery is slightly stagnant

Us light vehicle sales fell by about 20 per cent in August, according to auto research institutes. Sales of Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru and Mazda all fell in the US last month, in part because continuing challenges posed by the epidemic disrupted the steady recovery of the auto industry.

In fact, the US market has been recovering slowly since May, but the recovery has stalled since July. Analysts say inventory shortages, high unemployment, lower household spending, falling consumer confidence and reduced incentives are all dragging down the car market.

Japan: sales are down 16% year-on-year for the 11th month in a row

New car sales in Japan totaled 326436 in August, down 15.9% from a year earlier, the 11th consecutive month of decline and slightly larger than the 13.7% decline in July, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini car Association. However, the Automobile Industry Association said that overall car production and sales in Japan have been slowly recovering compared with April-June.

In terms of brand performance, Toyota's domestic sales in Japan fell 9.8% in August from a year earlier, while sales of Nissan and Honda fell 31.9% and 28.4%, respectively.