In 2003, the top ten manufacturers, which accounted for 80% of the Chinese car market, were reshuffled. The top four did not change and Shanghai Volkswagen continued to top the list. Guangzhou Honda leaped to fifth place from seventh place. Beijing Hyundai's black horse entered the tenth year when it was put into production. The only company with its own domestic brand, SAIC Chery, remained the eighth place despite the doubled production and sales volume and 80% respectively.
Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that in 2003 China’s car production exceeded 2 million vehicles for the first time, reaching 2.0189 million units, and sales reached 1.971 million units, an increase of 83% and 75% respectively. Shanghai Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen, Shanghai General Motors, Tianjin Xiali, Guangzhou Honda, Shenlong Automobile, Changan Automobile, SAIC Chery, Aeolus and Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd. produced and sold 1,594,300 vehicles and 1,587,700 vehicles, respectively, and accounted for the total number of passenger cars in the country. 78.8% and 80.5% of production and sales volume.
Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. ranked first in terms of output of 405,252 vehicles and 396,023 vehicles, which accounted for one-fifth of domestic car production and sales respectively. FAW-Volkswagen Co., Ltd. ranked second with a production of 302,346 units and sales of 298,006 units, accounting for 14.97% and 15.11% respectively. Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd. ranked third, with production and sales of 168,991 and 201282, respectively, accounting for 8.37% and 10.2% respectively. The sales and sales volume of Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. nearly doubled last year, with a production of 117,178 units and a sales volume of 117,030 units, an increase of 98.34% and 98.02% respectively. The increase in output is only lower than that of SAIC Chery, which ranks first in sales growth among the top ten manufacturers. The rising star of Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd., just put into production to rank among the top ten car manufacturers, ranked tenth, production and sales were 55,113 and 52,128 vehicles.
Authoritative sources in the auto industry pointed out that although the concentration of car production in China has continued to increase, there is still a big gap. Of the top ten car manufacturers, only two produced more than 200,000 vehicles last year, and two produced less than 100,000 vehicles.
China's four manufacturers have annual sales of over 400,000 vehicles
In 2003, China's auto production and sales both exceeded the 4 million mark, and sales exceeded Germany as the world’s third largest automotive sales nation. FAW and other top 10 automakers accounted for 80% of China's auto production and sales volume, of which FAW, SAIC, Dongfeng and Changan auto production and sales in 2003 exceeded 400,000.
Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that in 2003, the output of FAW, SAIC, Dongfeng, Chang'an, BAIC, Hafei, Jinbei, Guangzhou Automobile, Changhe, and Chery’s top ten automobile manufacturers reached 3.5477 million, and the sales volume reached 3.5061 million, accounting for the national automobile output. 79.84%, 79.85% of all domestic auto sales.
Among the top ten auto manufacturers, Guangzhou Automobile, Beijing Automotive Industry and Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. saw the largest increase in sales in 2003, and only Changhe has seen a decline.