Sales of Chinese cars have reached the limit

Great Wall V200

The Chinese car invasion seems to have petered out after a strong start. Last year, the number of Chinese-made cars sold in Australia dropped sharply.

In the case of Great Wall, the largest and arguably best known brand, sales fell 43%.

To put the numbers in perspective, the Australian new car market as a whole fell just 2 percent in 2014. In the meantime, Great Wall has sold 2637 vehicles here, up from 6105 in 2013 and a high of 11,006 in 2012.

The number of Chery vehicles sold here has also dropped markedly, from 903 vehicles to 592 vehicles last year, down from 1822 vehicles when the brand was launched in 2011. The Foton and LDV brands, which first appeared here last year, sold just 800 vehicles. vehicles between them.

Since imports began, the dollar has fallen from parity to 82 cents on the dollar in the last few months…

Sydney-based Ateco Automotive, which imports Chery, Great Wall, Foton and LDV, says the strength of the US dollar against the Australian dollar has hurt all brands.

A spokesman, Daniel Cotterill, says the company bought cars in China with US dollars.

Since imports began, the dollar has fallen from parity to 82 cents on the dollar over the past few months, making it more expensive to buy cars in relative terms.

In contrast, the fall of the yen has allowed Japanese automakers to sharpen their pencils by adding extra equipment and cutting prices to close the cost gap with Chinese products.

As the gap narrowed to $1000 in some cases, buyers preferred to pay extra for higher quality Japanese cars. Poor resale, reviews and average crash test results didn't help the Chinese either.

The Great Wall X240 SUV is the best in terms of safety, with a four out of five rating from the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). ANCAP does not recommend buying anything with a rating below four stars.

Mr Cotterill says the importer has failed to respond to lower prices in Japan. “The devaluation of the Japanese yen has allowed some high-profile brands to lower their prices, while the depreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar has undermined our ability to lower prices further to try to maintain the gap.

“Also, especially with Great Wall, we have not been able to update the lineup and that is hurting us too,” he said.

Geely cars are imported to Western Australia by the John Hughes Group. Last year, the Geely MK was honored to be the cheapest new car in Australia at just $8999.

But stocks have been sold out and sales have stopped, at least for now. While he still owns the rights, Hughes has put the Geely brand on the backburner until it offers an automatic transmission and at least a four-star crash safety rating.