- Contents
- *Overview
- What you need to know
- Covered in this Report
- Figure 1: Definition of different monthly household income groups, by city tier
- Excluded
What you need to know
The new passenger car market enjoyed a long-absent double-digit growth in 2016. But it has been struggling again in 2017. Such a phenomenon is a combined result of changing government policy, shifting manufacturer strategy and evolving car purchasing journey of consumers.
Covered in this Report
The cars in this Report continue to be defined as passenger cars for private individuals.
Passenger cars are divided into basic passenger cars (saloon cars), sport utility vehicles (SUVs), multipurpose vehicles (MPVs) and cross-type passenger cars.
Basic passenger cars (saloon cars): used for the transportation of personnel and luggage; the driver is usually the central focus, with an emphasis on driving and riding comfort. Saloon cars generally come in two-box configuration (hatchback) and three-box configuration (sedan).
SUV: combines the comfort of a saloon car with off-road capability, functional versatility and a two-box configuration (hatchback).
MPV: combines the comfort of the saloon car, the space of a tourer and can be used to transport goods like a van. These vehicles usually come in a two-box configuration. MPVs are targeted mainly at household users, and the majority are manufactured based on passenger car platforms.
Cross-type passenger vehicles: also known as minibuses. This type of vehicle can transport either passengers or goods, and is therefore known as a cross-type, usually single-box.
In terms of power source, new energy cars are cars with an unconventional power source such as electric power, or cars with more than one major power source such as with both an internal combustion engine and an electric engine.
Mintel divides consumers into three groups based on their monthly household income (MHI) and their residential areas.
| Sample size | Tier one cities | Tier two and three cities | |
| Low MHI | 1,000 | MHI = RMB 5,000-9,999 | MHI = RMB 4,000-7,999 |
| Middle MHI | 1,000 | MHI = RMB 10,000-15,999 | MHI = RMB 8,000-13,999 |
| High MHI | 1,000 | MHI >= RMB 16,000 | MHI >= RMB 14,000 |
Luxury car owners: current owners of Acura/Audi/BMW/Cadillac/Infiniti/Jaguar/Land Rover/Lexus/Lincoln/Mercedes-Benz/Porsche/Tesla/Volvo.
