Wuling saw its customer base reduced on the Mini EV but increases significantly on the Bingo
- A-Segment cars have never been very popular in China, because customers have always preferred cars from higher segments, which are more habitable and more status-oriented. The most successful model in China in this segment was the Chery QQ and its derivatives, but the arrival on the Chinese market in 2020 of the Wuling Mini EV, with an electric engine and no more than 3 meters long, revolutionized the A segment in China. This model experienced rapid growth between 2020 and 2022, eventually becoming the best-selling car in China (553,000 units in 2022) and allowed the A-segment to grow substantially.
- A-segment thus represented up to 5.3% of the Chinese passenger car market in 2022, compared to 4% in 2021, 1.6% in 2020 and 1% in previous years. Note that in Europe, practically all A-segment vehicles have lengths between 3.50 m and 3.75 m (the only exception is the Smart at 2.70 m). On the other hand, some vehicles not considered as cars but labeled “cars” (L6/L7 category) have lengths of less than 3.00 m (examples: the Citroën Ami, 2.40 m long).
- In 2023, dropping sales of the Wuling Mini EV brought the A-segment down to 2.5% of China's passenger car market. Conversely, the new B-segment sedans Wuling Bingo and BYD Seagull with electric engines made strong progress. Together they represent 516,000 sales in 2023 (234,000 units for the Bingo and 282,000 units for the Seagull), while the Mini EV fell to 118,000 units last year, thus losing 435,000 sales compared to 2022.
- Even if no direct link can be established between the two phenomena, we can see that the sales volume lost by the Wuling Mini EV is roughly equivalent to the volume gained by the Wuling Bingo and BYD Seagull last year. Thanks to these two models, the B-segment saw its share increase from 2.4% of the Chinese market in 2022 to 3.6% in 2023, including 2% of Bingo and Seagull.