by Chinese automakers artificially inflate sales figures
Recent car sales data in China may not be as accurate as it seems at first glance. It turns out that some manufacturers are using controversial methods to artificially inflate their performance. Among them is registering and insuring cars before they are actually sold to end customers.
How does the scheme work?
According to the data, companies count cars as sold immediately after they are insured, even if they haven’t reached the buyers yet. This allows them to show higher sales figures. For example, Neta and other manufacturers insured tens of thousands of cars before their actual sale.
“In the case of one manufacturer, sales of at least 64,719 cars were registered from January 2023 to March 2024, accounting for over half of the total sales volume during this period”
The practice likely started back in 2016 but intensified in early 2023 when a car “price war” began in China. Some companies started publishing weekly sales rankings on social media, using only insurance data.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) criticizes the use of such data, calling it unreliable. Representatives of Honda and GM assured that their dealers do not use such schemes, but the situation requires a more thorough investigation.
This scheme not only distorts the real picture of sales but can also affect consumer trust. Many buyers learn about the prior insurance only after completing the deal, which raises legitimate questions about market transparency.
