Chinese Consumers More Positive on Car Buying Environment

BEIJING, Feb. 3, 2016 -- Consumer confidence towards the car market inched upward again in January. Between December and January, Chinese consumers were more enthusiastic about the car purchasing environment and were more likely to act on this assessment, according to the latest MNI China Auto Purchase Sentiment Report.

The MNI China Car Purchase Indicator, a composite indicator designed to gauge overall conditions in the car market, rose 4.8% to 87.2 in January from 83.2 in December. Despite the rise, sentiment has remained below 90 for 20 months in a row, far below the 100 breakeven level. The gain in the indicator was led by an increase in the proportion of respondents who thought that the car purchase environment improved, as measured by the Car Purchase Expectations Indicator. This component edged up 3.4% to 98.2 in January as consumers revised up their outlook for personal finances. The other component that makes up the main Car Purchase Sentiment Indicator, the Price of Gasoline component, was down 3.7% to 123.8 from a three-year high of 128.6 in December, with fewer consumers expecting the price of fuel to increase in the coming months.

In contrast to the uptick in sentiment, actual planned purchases fell again in January. Those planning to buy a car in the next 12 months fell to 16.5% from 18.7% in December, led by a fall in those who were planning on upgrading or adding to their current vehicle. Following October's tax break on small vehicle purchases, car ownership levels rose to the highest in the history of the series, which spans back to 2012, led by a broad-based pickup in ownership among respondents in all the regions covered by the survey. The level of car ownership rose to 51.6% in January from 42.1% in December. A decrease in planned purchases suggests that some of this surge was due to a pull forward in expenditure though, which will likely weigh on the growth in vehicle ownership in the future.

Chinese families continued to shift their budget preferences towards the middle ranges in January and opted away from the cheapest options. The largest percentage of responses was again in the mid range of CNY 100,000 -- CNY 140,000 while the second most expensive tier, CNY 150,000 -- CNY 190,000 commanded the next highest proportion of responses.

Notes to Editors

The MNI China Auto Purchase Sentiment Report is derived mainly from data collected in the Westpac MNI China Consumer Sentiment Survey, a monthly survey of consumers across China. Further additional questions directly relating to the auto sector are also asked to supplement the dataset. Data is collected via telephone interviews and at least 1,000 interviews are conducted each month with respondents in 30 first, second and third tier cities aged between 18 and 64. Some series date back to 2007 while other more detailed data begins in 2012. Our publication includes a complete dataset that is stratified by age, gender, income, region and tier 1 city.

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