BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Against the backdrop of overall sales decline in China's auto market, multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) appears to be the hardest-hit segment in November, with sales totaling 141,000 units, down 30.3 percent year on year, according to data from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Moreover, data show that the proportion of different car models in the market gradually changed, and sales of Chinese independent brands rose the fastest during the period from September to November .
The iteration of the MPV market is accelerating, and the price/performance ratio is not the only factor consumers consider. The good performance of BYD Song Max and Baojun 360 reflects the growing popularity of innovative family MPVs.
Among the first echelon brands in China's MPV market, except for Song MAX, which maintained a 2.7 percent year-on-year growth, the sales of Wuling Hongguang, Buick GL8 and Baojun 730 all showed a downward trend in November, especially as Baojun 730 and Wuling Hongguang holding lower price as an advantage, of which the sales falling 61.6 percent and 28.5 percent respectively.
Launched this year in May, Baojun 360 has maintained good sales results. Since September, the model has been ranked in the top three best-sellers for three consecutive months. In the future, the long-existing pattern with Wuling Hongguang, Buick GL8 and BYD Song MAX on top may be reshuffled.
In addition, from September to November, the ranking of Sino-foreign joint-venture MPV models was constantly moving backwards, while Changan Honor, JAC Refine and Dongfeng Fengxing gradually took the lead in the second echelon of MPV brands.
In November, sales of Changan Honor, Jianghuai Ruifeng and Dongfeng were 4,832, 4,600 and 4,535 units, respectively, showed the data.
It is worth mentioning that among the independent MPV models of China, Jinbei Grace and Changhe Furuida M50 achieved significant sales increase, which were 145.2 percent and 20 percent respectively.
With the intensive introduction of new cars by China's independent brands, the MPV market will surely usher in a new round of battle, and the sales champion of the year remains to be seen. (Edited by Li Wenxin, Yang Qi, liwenxin@xinhua.org)
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