Maxus expects strong growth to continue in 2020

Chinese carmaker SAIC Maxus Automotive Co expects its growth momentum to continue in 2020 after a record number of vehicles were delivered in 2019.

Wang Rui, president of the wholly-owned subsidiary of China's largest carmaker SAIC Motor, said on Sunday the company will sell from 160,000 to 180,000 vehicles this year.

He said there is still much room for further growth in China's vehicle market and first-time buyers are to emerge more in smaller cities.

SAIC Maxus sold 120,017 vehicles last year, up 42.85 percent from 2018, although China's overall vehicle market fell 8.2 percent year-on-year.

Its sales in China stood at 98,382, up 45.27 percent, while overseas sales totaled 21,635, up 32.77 percent.

Its vehicles are available in 48 countries and regions, with developed countries including Australia and New Zealand its major markets.

Since its establishment in 2011, SAIC Maxus has seen a compound growth rate of 60 percent year-on-year, according to the company.

The company said its customer-to-business operations have contributed a lot to its sales performance.

As one of the first carmakers to build an online platform that allows customers to customize their vehicles, SAIC Maxus saw around 40 percent of its sales last year from the platform.

Via the platform, more than 200 engineers are ready to answer pre-sales and after-sales questions from customers.

Its growing lineup composed of vans, SUVs, pickups and MPVs is helping the company to make forays into different segments.

Sales of its three van models totaled 32,488 in China last year, with a combined market share of 20.2 percent in the segment, ranking second in the country.

Its T60 pickup is the bestseller in its segment in Beijing. It is also the most popular Chinese pickup model in Australia, New Zealand and Chile, with combined sales reaching 24,000.

SAIC Maxus said it will launch a number of new models this year, including an electric pickup, an electric MPV as well as its fuel cell MPV called G20FC, which will have a driving range of 550 km.

The company is offering vehicles of different powertrains. Besides electric and fuel cell vehicles, it also has gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles on the market.

SAIC Maxus said it will build a more competitive sales network this year, with more dealerships to be built in tier-three and tier-four cities, where growth will be faster than in larger cities.

Overseas, it will try to develop three to four markets where it can sell at least 10,000 vehicles a year by 2022.

It will speed up overseas expansion onwards as part of parent company SAIC Motor's globalization campaign.

SAIC expects to sell 1 million vehicles a year by 2025. In 2019, it delivered 350,000 vehicles overseas, up 26 percent year-on-year.