Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that 635,600 complete vehicles, chassis and semi-trailer tractors were sold in China’s heavy-duty truck market during 2009, up 17.4 percent compared to the same period the prior year. The market weakness during the first half of 2009 was more than offset by the significant gains in the second half of the year.
However, heavy-duty trucks accounted for only 21.5 percent of the total sales volume of trucks during 2009, two percentage points lower than that in 2008. This was principally due to the slowdown in the greater economy, which impacted the highway logistics sector and led to weak demand for heavy-duty trucks. The Chinese government’s stimulus package for light trucks and pickups in rural areas was another reason for the decline.
In 2009, FAW Group replaced CNHTC Jinan Truck Co., Ltd. as China’s No.1 heavy-duty truck manufacturer in terms of sales volume. The highest sales growth was seen at Beiqi Foton Motor, which posted a year-on-year rise of 44 percent in sales volume for the full year 2009. Anhui Hualing Automobile followed Beiqi Foton Motor with a year-on-year rise of 42.4 percent in sales volume.
The highest growth was seen in the complete truck segment. A total of 134,300 complete heavy-duty trucks were sold during 2009, a year-on-year rise of 25.8 percent. During the year, Beiqi Foton Motor sold 7,108 complete heavy-duty trucks, up 859 percent from a year earlier, the highest growth among all the major Chinese heavy-duty truck manufacturers. Beiqi Foton Motor was followed by Shaanxi Heavy-duty Special Vehicle Co. Ltd with a year-on-year increase of 221 percent.
During 2009, 291,000 heavy-duty truck chassis were sold in China, up 21.4 percent from a year earlier. This surge led to increased activity in the Chinese heavy-duty truck market.
The highest volatility was seen in the semi-trailer tractor segment, which posted a year-on-year decline of 86.7 percent for January 2009 and a year-on-year rise of 468 percent for November of the same year.
