The recent heavy truck market sales have set a new record!
In April, in an environment where demand in the terminal market continued to decline, how much was the final sales volume of the heavy-duty truck industry? Will it exceed the sales volume of the same period last year and refresh the monthly sales high in April?
Declining demand and rising sales, the heavy-duty truck market hit a new high for the 13th consecutive month
Data show that in April 2021, my country's heavy truck market is expected to sell about 200,000 vehicles of various types (invoicing sales caliber, non-terminal actual sales caliber), a decrease of 13% month-on-month and a year-on-year increase of 5%. From January to April this year, the cumulative sales of the heavy truck market exceeded 730,000, an increase of 57% over the same period last year.
The sales volume of about 200,000 vehicles also broke the historical record of the heavy truck market's sales in April, which was less than 10,000 more than the same period last year (191,200 vehicles). Don't underestimate this net increase of less than 10,000 vehicles. You must know that last April was the previous record "holder" of monthly sales in the global heavy truck market. This record was not broken until March of this year.
At the same time, this is also the 13th consecutive month that the heavy-duty truck market has set a record. From April 2020 to April 2021, the monthly sales volume of the heavy-duty truck market has set a new monthly sales record, creating a new monthly sales record.
On the one hand, sales continued to rise, setting a new high for the 13th consecutive month; on the other hand, the demand for orders continued to decline. What happened to the recent heavy-duty truck market?
Why is terminal demand declining but sales volume increasing?
In April, why did terminal demand in the heavy-duty truck market decline but the sales volume of the heavy-duty truck industry rose? There are two main reasons for this.
First, demand does continue to decline. According to the understanding of the first commercial vehicle network, since mid-April, orders for heavy truck dealers in many regions have rapidly declined, and the terminal demand situation is not optimistic. In April, due to the impact of environmental protection and production restrictions across the country, the prosperity of the logistics industry continued to decline. In many areas, the road freight volume was insufficient and the freight rate decreased. There was an obvious phenomenon of more vehicles and less goods. In this case, the demand for new heavy trucks is obviously weak, which has led to a continuous decline in customer orders from dealers. Especially after mid-April, dealers in many places have reported that orders have fallen sharply, channel inventory is high, and the market is worrying.
Secondly, the sales volume of the industry achieved year-on-year growth on the basis of a high base in the same period last year, mainly due to National VI. From July 1 this year, the National VI emission regulations for heavy-duty diesel vehicles will be implemented nationwide. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have also issued the "Announcement on Matters Concerning the Implementation of National VI Emission Standards for Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles." The "Announcement" clearly requires that from July 1, 2021, the National VI emission standards for heavy-duty diesel vehicles shall be fully implemented nationwide, and the production and sales of heavy-duty diesel vehicles that do not meet the National VI emission standards are prohibited (the production date shall be uploaded with the motor vehicle certificate The date shall prevail, and the date of sale shall be the date of the motor vehicle sales invoice). Imported heavy-duty diesel vehicles shall comply with the National VI emission standards (the date of import shall be subject to the date of arrival marked on the certificate of import of goods).
Industry demand is not good, but production and sales are booming, mainly due to the disturbance of this policy factor. In order to compete for the last wave of National V opportunities before the implementation of National VI, most heavy-duty truck companies still did not cut production in April, and started production and sales at full capacity. On the one hand, this led to high channel inventory, and on the other hand, it also resulted in the still invoicing sales in April. Shows a year-on-year increase. As a result, in the end there was a "two heavens of ice and fire" with declining demand and rising sales. However, how long will this "special" situation last?
