Will China save the luxury car market?
Luxury car makers are thanking China for a boost in sales. China is reporting monthly car sales of 1.5 million units this year equaling that of U.S. vehicle sales. This has pushed some car makers well into the black and is giving them much needed capital to develop new models for a world market.
Luxury cars like Bentley are more common on the streets of China and what a difference a decade makes. It wasn’t too long ago when Chinese cities were filled with bicycles, but thanks to a booming economy the luxury car market is growing fast. China’s luxury segment is seen as the next biggest boom for car makers around the world. Some analysts predict that within the next seven years China will outgrow the American luxury market and be the world number one.
What does a growing car market in China mean for American consumers? More sales in China will push some companies who have been struggling like Lincoln into profitability. This will give them more capital to develop new and more advanced vehicles and meet the needs of an expanding market. The result is that over the next ten years we are going to see luxury models and more advanced vehicles available for sale. Because of the larger volume the price may come down for some models. Super luxury cars like Bentley and Rolls-Royce may become harder to find as companies can only build a certain amount per year.
Before the year 2000 Rolls-Royce was selling as few as 600 cars a year. Now with some new models they are expected to pass the 4000 sales mark next year and it is thanks in part to the new rich Chinese buyer. Bentley’s growth is almost 20% in 2014 to 7,786 cars up from 6,516 cars in the same period of 2013. It is thanks in part to cars like the Continental GT and the Flying Spur.
America still has dominance with luxury cars sales.
