Multi-purpose vehicles long overdue a rising market share in China

SAIC GM unveils its six-seat MPV GL6 last Monday in Wuhan, Hubei province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Carmakers are introducing more multi-purpose vehicles into the Chinese market in the hope of meeting customers' growing need for larger onboard space.

Bao Ye, head of Buick sales and marketing department at SAIC GM, said 40 percent of Chinese grandparents take care of their grandchildren, but more often than not they will be absent from family trips because of limited seat space.

"Our six-seat Buick GL6 is targeted at such families, enabling them to travel together," said Bao when the MPV was unveiled last week in Wuhan, Hubei province.

"Our products have been designed to meet customers' actual needs since we shifted our focus to family cars three years ago."

But, the GL6 comes at a time when MPVs are not very popular.

After a surge in 2016, domestic MPV sales in January-August fell 17 percent year-on-year to 1.45 million, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

But analysts said the main reasons for the lackluster performance was the large number of SUVs on offer, and more importantly a lack of really competitive models available in the market.

Examples they cited include the Buick GL8, with sales surging 88 percent in the first three quarters this year to 100,059, and the Maxus G10, with sales soaring 46 percent in the same period.

Bao said 50 percent of GL8 ES customers buy the model for family use, so it is evident that there is demand in the segment. Compared to sedans and SUVs in particular, MPVs are lagging far behind in the number of product offerings and updates; if there was more choice, they would attract SUV customers, according to industry insiders.

In addition to international carmakers, Chinese brands are preparing themselves for the potential of this segment.

BYD launched its Song MPV earlier this year. Geely is set to unveil its MPV in late 2018, with the concept car attracting significant attention when shown at the Shanghai Auto Show in April.

Nan Shengliang, a senior sales manager at Geely, said in an earlier interview that MPV sales will rise, as many young Chinese couples are having, or are likely to have, their second child and thus need better mobility options.

The China Passenger Car Association expects MPV sales to reach 3.5 million by 2020 from 2.4 million in 2016.