Whether rural China will become a “blue ocean”–new market area– for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) has been a hot topic in China since mid-July 2020. The impetus was the Chinese government’s July 14 announcement of a policy on rural sales expansion of NEVs as the latest campaign to support the automobile market. The implementation period was set until the end of 2020. Some small battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) were also selected to be covered by the campaign manufactured by BAIC BJEV, Great Wall Motor, Changan NEV Technology, Chery New Energy Automotive TecRead more...

Japan’s automobile sales of imported foreign brands dropped 23.2% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 to 114,000 units. Consumer sentiment declined in October 2019 due to the introduction of higher consumption tax. Monthly sales have been falling below the previous year’s level ever since. The outbreak of the new coronavirus has only made this tendency even worse. Sales of foreign brands dropped 13.1% in March 2020, 36.9% in April and 46.4% in May. The declaration of state of emergency in April and May pressured dealers to ceaseRead more...

Chinese automakers have begun to set foot in the expanding Indian market. SAIC Group started production and sales in India in 2019 and Great Wall Motor plans to do the same starting from 2021. Meanwhile BYD and Foton Motor assemble BEV buses in the country. Chinese automakers are making efforts to reduce their dependence on their home market. As part of this attempt, they are expanding their presence in India. Similarly to China, India is one of the most populous countries in the world. The country has high growth potential as the working-age population Read more...

In 2019, Laos’s automobile sales decreased 5.4% compared to the previous year to 22,000 units. Sales have decreased for the fourth consecutive year since it reached a record high of 40,000 units in 2015. In 2019, the country’s GDP growth rate dropped to 4.7%, falling below 5% for the first time in 20 years since 1999, due to the slump in the agricultural sector which was affected by flood damage. Declining GDP negatively affected the overall market climate which in turn may have pushed down automobile sales. Looking at sales data by vehicle type, whilRead more...

In Vietnam, there has been no death of the new coronavirus reported (as of confirmation on July 10, 2020), and the spread of the infection was suppressed early. Thanks to the situation, the impact on the automobile market was the smallest among the major ASEAN countries. As for production, automakers shut down production sites in response to a stay-at-home order implemented on April 1 for 3 weeks. However, they all have smoothly resumed operations thereafter. The Vietnamese government has introduced tax reduction measures for automobile registration feesRead more...