Executives from automotive companies gathered at the Guangzhou Auto Show on Friday, Nov. 20, expressing how the days of exponential growth are finished, with the companies expecting slower sales in the coming year, according to a report by Automotive News China.
Volkswagen China Executive Vice President Soh Weiming predicted that sales for passenger vehicles may expand between 3 and 5 percent in 2016.
Jiang Jun, president of FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co., said that the company does not plan to set high targets for its dealers next year, giving them a chance to "regain strength."
Hubertus Troska, head of China for Daimler AG, pointed out how the market was giving higher discounts.
Infiniti CEO Roland Krueger described the growth as "normalizing."
"Of course it's not as good as before, when you have those double digits, but hey, with this base and with this growth, that is impressive," said Soh, adding that he expects 2016 to be better than 2015. He also said that the company will introduce more crossovers and minivans to take advantage of demand in those segments.
In contrast, previous auto shows would normally showcase companies boasting about multibillion-dollar spending plans, anticipating great sales.
"The new normal is much slower growth than the explosive growth in the past, and is very dependent on technology as well as government policy," said Namrita Chow, principal analyst for China at IHS Automotive. "It will be a fight to attract customers with better technology, features and fuel economy with models that will have to be more targeted."
However, Robert Parker, head of Lincoln in China, had more optimistic views.
"We're going to be surprised by how the market is going to recover next year," he said. "I don't think it's going to be a hockey stick, but I think we're to see more growth than we've experienced the last six months. The last couple of months have looked promising."