September was a good month for auto production and sales, but not so good for dealers. On October 13, China Automobile Dealers Association held a press conference to introduce the latest situation of automobile dealers industry. According to the latest "Inventory Warning Index Survey of Auto Dealers in China" released by China Association of Automobile Dealers, the inventory warning index of auto dealers in September 2020 was 54.0%, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous month and down 4.6 percentage points from the same period last year. The inventory warning index is still above the line that separates expansion from contraction.

The pressure of dealers in north region is greater than that in south region

      From the point of view of the sub-index, in September this year, the inventory index and the operating condition index increased month-on-month, while the market demand index, average daily sales index and the employee index decreased month-on-month.

       From the perspective of regional index, the survey conducted by China Automobile Dealers Association shows that the overall national index in September was 54.0%, 58.2% in the north, 54.2% in the east, 51.6% in the west and 49.8% in the south. Approaching the fourth quarter, dealers enter into the autumn replenishment cycle, while the southern region of Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei and other provinces sales growth faster, the inventory pressure slightly eased.

       In terms of brands, the index of imported and luxury brands and mainstream joint venture brands rose month-on-month in September this year, while the index of independent brands fell month-on-month. This shows that luxury brands continue to lead, the trend of joint-venture brands diverges, the inventory pressure rises, while the market share of self-owned brands rises slightly, sales increase steadily, and the inventory pressure is alleviated to some extent.

An estimated 1.75 million passenger cars were sold in October

        Experts from the China Association of Automobile Dealers said that in September this year, favorable policies in various regions boosted consumption and boosted market demand, so the market continued to pick up and sales growth continued to rise. However, October sales are expected to be less optimistic.

       Chinese automobile circulation association, said in October, in parts of the promotion fee policy continues, but eight or nine consecutive two months more than expected growth to release some of the market demand, the subsequent demand stock co., LTD., the market is difficult to maintain growth, is expected in October sales of about 1.75 million vehicles, with the same period last year sales, from a small decline.

       For the dealers, entering the fourth quarter, the pressure on them to hit the annual sales target will not be reduced. Although there is a certain support policy and the price discount is relatively large, the pulling effect is not strong, and the dealers will bear great pressure.

       China Association of Automobile Dealers suggested that in the post-epidemic period, dealers should rationally estimate the actual market demand according to the actual situation, reasonably control the inventory level, improve the network profitability, strengthen the risk management of channels, do a good job in capital management, control costs and reduce operational risks.