Description

China is the largest automotive market globally. In 2017, luxury cars accounted for a 10.3% share of the country’s overall passenger vehicle market. The luxury car market is forecast to experience a positive growth, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4% during 2017-2025. Being a premium niche market it is highly concentrated and dominated by Mercedes Benz, Audi, and BMW, with them having a combined market share of 68.8% across the sedan and sport-utility vehicle (SUV) segments in 2017.

The Chinese luxury car market is led by European automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), especially the German companies Mercedes-Benz and Audi. Traditional mass market brands such as Toyota and Nissan are attempting to expand their portfolio with launches of premium models such as Lexus and Infiniti.

Compact SUV and C-Compact sedan are the most favored luxury car segments in China. Market adoption from female, urban driving and price cost are the key purchase attractiveness that will drive demand for luxury cars from individuals during the long term. Upon the business travel purpose, F-Large Plus vehicle segment of luxury car is likely to enhance its market attractiveness in China.

Gasoline powertrain is expected to continue its dominance in the Chinese luxury car market during the long term. Nevertheless, competition from Tesla in electric powertrains and the encouragement offered by the Chinese government in developing new energy powertrain vehicles are likely to accelerate the market adoption of both battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in China during the long term.

Luxury automotive OEMs are at levels 3 and 4—respectively focusing on conditional automated and highly automated advancement—in the development of autonomous driving technology. Thus, connected service between smartphone and vehicle is becoming highly popular in China. Apple CarPlay is leading the mobile-vehicle connected service, as Android Auto is currently not allowed to operate the Chinese market. The collection of big data helps OEMs to gather useful information about environmental factors, vehicle usage, driving behaviors, and so on.

This research further provides branding analysis, market trends, customer analysis, powertrain trends, technology trends, and market share and comparative analysis related to the Chinese luxury car market, and also highlights growth opportunities. It closes by offering key conclusions and the future outlook for the Chinese luxury car market.