SHANGHAI : Automakers in China delivered a record number of cars to dealers in the first nine months of the year even as retail demand slowed, setting up the market for a slowdown in 2023, a leading Chinese brokerage said on Wednesday.
In September, deliveries to dealers rose by 33 per cent, while retail sales climbed only 9 per cent, meaning that inventories on dealer lots jumped, a trend that could create an overhang that will weigh on sales next year, they said.CMBI analysts used insurance registration data to track retail sales separate from wholesale deliveries to dealers.
"We expect China's wholesale volume to fall in 2023, with more significant decline for internal-combustion engine vehicles than this year." Auto industry officials have forecast a stronger end to the year as consumers rush to buy cars before government subsidies for electric vehicles and a tax cut for small-engine vehicles expire.