The Chinese market is the largest single battlefield of the four largest auto giants

With the release of 2011 sales results of major auto groups, the latest ranking of global auto companies is “freshly baked”. According to the latest data released by major car manufacturers, U.S. General Motors recaptured the championship with sales of 9.03 million vehicles. For the third consecutive year Toyota Motors, which had the world’s top sales volume, fell 5.6% from the previous year to only 7.95 million vehicles, and retreated to third place.

In 2011, the world’s largest changes in the automobile pattern showed that GM took the lead in sales of 9.006 million units last year, while Volkswagen placed 8.16 million units in second place, while Toyota’s sales fell 6% to 7.95 million units, slipping to the third position.

In fact, as early as the first half of last year, Toyota’s global sales ranking dropped to the third place in the world, and the gap between it and General Motors reached more than 800,000. Toyota has slipped to third place, and Toyota Motor has fallen out of the world's top two for the first time since 2003 when global sales exceeded Ford.

In the top five global markets in 2011, only Toyota Motor sales fell. The gap between Volkswagen and GM, which is in the second place, has reached 860,000 vehicles, making it the most disparate among the global auto industry in recent years.

GM returned to the sales championship because of the increase in sales volume in the United States and China. Regaining the global sales championship, this is an extraordinary case for GM, which once fell into bankruptcy protection. After undergoing a bankruptcy reorganization two years ago, General Motors finally achieved a rebirth.

In 2010, the Hyundai-Kia Motors Group, which had surpassed Ford’s fourth-largest global sales volume, recorded a record high sales last year, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, making it the fastest-growing auto company in the top ten sales.

According to analysts from the industry, the changes in the global automobile pattern in 2011 were mainly due to the continuous impact of Toyota on the Japanese earthquake and floods in Thailand. Of course, compared with natural disasters, the appreciation of the yen has a far-reaching impact on Toyota and other systems.

The main battlefield of the Chinese market is worth mentioning is that "the performance of the Chinese market" directly determines the changes in the global ranking of major car companies.

According to statistics, among the top five global car companies, GM, Volkswagen, Nissan Renault and Hyundai Kia have achieved the top market performance in the Chinese market. In fact, China is currently not only the world's largest single market for GM, Volkswagen, and Nissan, but also luxury brands such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Audi.

The strong performance of emerging market markets in China and other countries in recent years has led major auto makers to gear up.

It is reported that GM plans to win 5 million units of sales in the Chinese market by 2015; Toyota will set an expected sales volume of 8.48 million units in 2012. At the same time, it has also formulated a sales plan for emerging markets, which is expected to be in 2015 in emerging markets. Sales will account for 50% of Toyota's total sales, which is currently about 40%.

Volkswagen plans to sell 3 million vehicles in the Chinese market by 2015. At the same time, it plans to double its sales in the US to 1 million by 2018, and by 2018 it will exceed 10 million.

The top five global car makers in 2011 and sales in China Global ranking Global sales (10,000 units) Car dealership name China sales (ten thousand vehicles) Chinese market position First place 903 General Motors 254.7 First place Second place 816 Volkswagen 226 First Third place 795 Toyota 88.3 Third place 739 Nissan Renault 127.4 Fifth place 659 Hyundai Kia 123.8 First