Shanghai (ZXZC)- Most Japanese brands sustained robust growth for their China businesses in October. Both Toyota and Honda posted double-digit increase in China sales last month. Notably, Toyota was also the fastest-growing one in terms of Jan.-Oct. sales.

Among the four main brands, Mazda was the only one that faced year-on-year monthly decrease, while the decline in its year-to-date sales shrank to 4.7%.

Toyota boasts 33.3% YoY hike in Oct. sales

Toyota announced a new car sales volume of 176,000 units for its China business last month, posting a year-on-year hike of 33.3% and outpacing the other three.

Corolla; photo credit: FAW-Toyota

Among the four main Japanese automakers, Toyota was the only one that achieved growth in terms of year-to-date performance. It sold roughly 1,438,400 vehicles in total during the first ten months.

According to two joint ventures, the sales of FAW-Toyota and GAC Toyota reached around 66,000 units (+6.6% YoY) and 74,000 units (+27% YoY) in October. With 36,000 units (+9% YoY) sold, FAW-Toyota’s Corolla was still the best-selling model. The sales of GAC Toyota’s Levin series, the eighth-generation Camry and the Highlander stood at 22,459, 17,414 and 8,999 units, growing 8%, 13% and 2% year on year respectively. Cumulative sales of the Wildlander SUV amounted to 53,363 units since it hit the market in Feb., of which 9,958 units were sold last month. 

Lexus saw its China deliveries surge 44.4% over a year ago to 23,600 units in Oct., which made the year-to-date volume total 182,000 units. In all likelihood, the annual sales of the luxury brand will once again surpass 20,000 units.

Honda's China business posts 22.3% YoY jump in Oct. deliveries

Honda Motor Co.,Ltd. said its China deliveries jumped 22.3% over a year earlier to 180,655 units in October, for the fourth month in a row achieving highest-ever monthly sales.

Breeze; photo credit: GAC Honda

GAC Honda delivered 85,520 vehicles last month, up 25.8% year over year. It was also the best Oct. sales the joint venture ever achieved.

A total of five models—the Accord, the Vezel, the Breeze, the Crider and the Fit—from GAC Honda has a delivery volume exceeding 10,000 units. In particular, the deliveries of the Accord topped 20,000 units.

Dongfeng Honda's deliveries leapt 19.3% year over year to 95,135 units in October. It had three models—the CR-V, the Civic and the XR-V—whose monthly sales surpassed 10,000 units. Notably, both the CR-V and the Civic posted delivery volume topping 20,000 units.

Moreover, the Oct. deliveries of Honda's Sport Hybrid models hit a new high of 21,868 units.

As for year-to-date sales, the Japanese automaker delivered a total of 1,246,816 vehicles in the world's largest auto market, representing a year-on-year decrease of 1.9%, versus the 5.1% drop in Jan.-Sept. sales. The deliveries of GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda reached 622,551 units (-1% YoY) and 624,265 units (-2.8% YoY) respectively.

Nissan says China sales grow 5% YoY in Oct.

Nissan's China sales climbed 5% year on year to 146,028 units (including imported vehicles) in October, the Japanese automaker announced on November 5.

Seventh-generation Altima; photo credit: Dongfeng Honda

For the first ten months, Nissan sold 1,131,502 new vehicles in China, a year-on-year decrease of 8%, 1.7 percentage points lower than the drop in Jan.-Sept. sales.

Last month, Nissan China's PV business unit attained a 4.6% year-on-year growth by selling 124,197 vehicles. Dongfeng Nissan's sales grew 7.4% from a year ago to 116,072 units, its highest-ever figure in terms of Oct. sales volume.

Both sedan and SUV sales sustained growth for Dongfeng Nissan. In Oct., the sales of the seven-generation Altima, the Sylphy and the Tiida reached 10,548 units (+4.1% YoY), 54,620 units (+28.3% YoY) and 6,706 units (+4.1% MoM) respectively. Notably, the Sylphy's sales hit a record high level regarding Oct. volume.

The joint venture saw the Oct. sales of Nissan-branded SUVs jumped 17.4% month on month to 41,521 units, including 2,192 Muranos (+34% MoM), 16,209 X-Trails (+6.9% MoM), 18,502 Qashqais (+19% MoM), 2,782 Kicks (+44.2% MoM) and 1,836 Terras (+71.4% MoM).

Mazda's China deliveries edge down 1% YoY in Oct.

Mazda's China deliveries reached 19,681 units in Oct., edging down 1.5% from a year ago and sliding 5.9% from the previous months.

The slide in overall auto sales entirely stemmed from the plunge confronting FAW-Mazda. Last month, the joint venture with FAW Group saw its sales slump 40.5% to 5,076 units. However, Changan Mazda still scored a 28.6% year-on-year jump by selling 14,605 new vehicles.

Mazda3 Axela; photo credit: Changan Mazda

In the Jan.-Oct. period, Mazda handed over 173,010 vehicles to consumers in China, a year-on-year decrease of 4.7%. To be specific, the deliveries of FAW-Mazda and Changan Mazda were 63,883 units (-11.2% YoY) and 109,127 units (-0.5% YoY).

The Mazda3 Axela was still the best-seller in October, while its sales failed to exceed 10,000 units. The sales of the Mazda CX-4 reached 3,125 units, only 10 units more than that of the Mazda CX-5.