GWM's Haval Brand: 2013-2020

Haval came out of the Hover brand. which went from 2005 to 2012. Haval started early 2013 and due to data only really kicking off in Q2, Q1 is a reasonably accurate figure during the transition,

2013 finished with just over 400,000 units sold, up 48%. The H6 model was a major part of that growth at 217,900 units and up 94% on 2012. 

2014 was up 24% to 519,400. The H6 now reached 315,900 sales. This was being achieved while its car range was now in freefall. SUVs were the way forward. 

In 2015, right hand drive vehicles were now being made. The total reached 699,000 and up 35%. The popular H6 was up to 373,300 sales. 

2016 was a massive year, with sales up 34% and reaching 938,000. And you guessed it, the H6 was in the thick of it. 580,700 sales at this point, including over 80,000 in December. Haval was on a roll!

2017 and things faltered. The introduction of the more upmarket GWM Wey took some sales from Haval's top tier models. Competiton from competitors also had an impact. The H6 slipped to 508,000 sales. 

2018 saw Haval's range being restructured but that didn't stop sales falling further to 766,000 with a 10% reduction. The H6 was barely over 450,000 sales.  

2019 and the slide was arrested. 769,500 in total and a few thousand above the previous year. The tenth consecutive year as the top SUV brand in China. The H6 was down to 386,400 deliveries while the new F7 exceeded 140,000. 

2020 was ravaged by the pandemic so I'm surprised 750,200 were sold (-2%). GWM introduced a new platform called LEMON. Hmm. The third generation H6 came during the year and achieved sales of 378,000. 

The series will continue from 2021.

Data source: GWM. 
Photos: 2013 H8 & 2020 H6.

Kia Deliveries : 2022-26 (Q1-Q3)

Kia is the smaller volume brand compared to Hyundai but it still sells in large numbers. An excessively protected home market helps. So how have recent years gone, when broken into quarters?

2022: It was up 5% to 2.9 million. The EV6 crossover arrived, the fifth generation Sportage SUV and Niro small SUV.  Plenty of activity there. 

2023: Volume was up 6% to nearly 3.1 million units. 

The EV9 debuted as an electric seven seat SUV. 

2024: Global sales were the same as last year. The EV5 electric medium sized SUV was introduced. The Seltos comapct SUV had a major mid life update.

2025: A modest 2% increase to 3.135 million deliveries. The new K4 passenger car arrived, the Tasman pick up truck and EV3 compact crossover likewise. 

2026: The PV5 passenger and commercial van was introduced. Sales so far are up 4% YOY. 

Summary: Kia is a very consistent performer. It seems to be riding the increased competition well. The question is, can it continue to do so? 

Data source: Kia. Photos: Sportage & K4.

Austria Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-Sep)

Registrations were up 12% for the first three quarters. VW, as always, is on top with 13.2% share. I've got data going back to 1984 and that is the lowest share for VW in all that time. It still isn't being threatened. noticed Dacia is reducing its volume and it is so consistent, it must be a policy. Is it shifting away from value pricing?

Chinese brands are arriving although only BYD has has had a major impact so far. Legacy brands will be feeling uneasy. 

Data source: Statistik Austria.