Saturation in the domestic heavy truck stage has become a top priority

Statistics show that from January to August this year, China's heavy-duty truck market sales were 651,000 units, down 9.5% year-on-year. If we follow this figure of 1 million cars that was the same as last year, this year's sales target means that 349,000 vehicles will be sold in the remaining months of this year. In response, Tan Xiuqing, an industry expert and vice president of Shandong Heavy Industry Group, believes that the market environment this year is very different from that of last year, and sales volume is very difficult to keep up with last year.

Compared with the sluggish domestic heavy truck market, the international heavy truck market is gradually emerging from the financial crisis and resumed growth. For domestic heavy-duty truck companies, going out of the country will not only reduce the pressure on domestic sales, but also be an effective way to increase brand influence.

Although the domestic market is becoming saturated, it is currently in the traditional sales season for the heavy truck market. However, for heavy truck companies, the “Golden 9 Silver 10” cannot reverse the downturn in the market. During the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, the demand for the domestic heavy-duty truck market will gradually become saturated, which has become a common view in the industry. Heavy truck companies will re-examine the capacity of the domestic market and formulate development strategies for domestic and foreign markets accordingly.

Huang Gang, general manager of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles, recently stated that after sales of 1.3 million vehicles in 2010 and becoming the world’s largest medium and heavy truck market, it is difficult for China’s medium and heavy truck sales to grow even more strongly. When China's medium- and heavy-duty trucks have reached 900,000 vehicles, they have accounted for 50% of the global sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Last year, the sales volume of medium and heavy trucks in China reached 1.3 million, which exceeded half of the global medium and heavy truck market. Therefore, we can no longer expect too much from the domestic market.

Wu Yuejun, deputy general manager of Foton Motors and head of Auman’s headquarters, also stated that last year, the production and sales volume of China’s heavy-duty trucks was one of a stage high, and it may decline or grow steadily in the future. In 2008, the number of domestic heavy trucks remained at 3 million, which has increased by 50% in these two years, and the economic aggregate has certainly not enjoyed such a large increase. The increase in car ownership is now much higher than the growth rate of economic development, so continuous growth is impossible. "I think that the production and sales volume of 1 million heavy trucks is the zenith of the stage, and it's impossible for them to grow at a large rate. It is quite possible for them to drop substantially," he said.