• time;2024-02-29 17:56:03

In the first month of 2024, the natural gas heavy-duty truck market continued to be booming, achieving both year-on-year and month on month growth.

According to the data from compulsory traffic insurance (excluding exports and military products), in January 2024, the sales volume of natural gas heavy-duty trucks in China reached 6370 units, an increase of 4% compared to December last year and 96% compared to the same period last year. The net sales volume increased by about 3100 units compared to the same period last year, almost doubling, and opening a prosperous new year.

01

A good start to the first month

At the beginning of 2024, the natural gas heavy-duty truck market has shown strong growth momentum, achieving both year-on-year and month on month growth. This impressive sales performance not only demonstrates the enormous potential of the natural gas heavy-duty truck market, but also further confirms its sustained demand trend.

Looking back at the past year, the natural gas heavy-duty truck market has been thriving, starting from December 2022 and embarking on a 13 month journey of doubling sales. Multiple monthly sales have doubled and skyrocketed, fully demonstrating the vitality of the market and the enthusiasm of consumers. As we enter 2024, this growth trend continues, and the sales volume of natural gas heavy-duty trucks continues to climb, successfully achieving a "14 consecutive increases".

Despite facing the challenge of rising gas prices in the last quarter of 2023, the natural gas heavy-duty truck market still demonstrates strong resilience and adaptability. After experiencing a significant drop in LNG prices from June to August 2023, gas prices began to rebound from September and reached nearly 6000 yuan/ton by December, which has had a certain impact on the economic advantages of natural gas heavy-duty trucks. However, the gas price in January 2024 has decreased compared to December last year (about 5300 yuan/ton), which has stimulated market demand to some extent and driven the recovery of natural gas heavy-duty truck sales.  

From the perspective of sales regions, in January 2024, 30 provinces (cities, autonomous regions) nationwide achieved the registration and operation of natural gas heavy-duty trucks, an increase of 25% compared to the same period last year, significantly demonstrating the expansion of market coverage. At the same time, the regional distribution still presents a highly uneven pattern. Specifically, the top two sales figures in the terminal region in January were Shanxi and Hebei, both accounting for over 20%, 21.9% and 20.3% respectively; Following closely behind are Xinjiang, Shandong, Henan, and Ningxia, ranking 3rd to 6th with percentages of 7.2%, 6.3%, 5.9%, and 5.4%, respectively.

From the perspective of future development trends, the long-term gas price agreement between China and Russia will help stabilize natural gas prices, thereby promoting the sustained growth of demand for natural gas heavy-duty trucks. In addition, it is expected that the proportion of gas vehicles in the entire heavy-duty truck market will further increase in 2024. Some companies have predicted that in the current situation of low freight rates, gas heavy-duty trucks, with their excellent economy, are expected to achieve growth beyond expectations. In addition to the high penetration rate of tractor trucks, cargo trucks may also achieve unexpected growth. This series of positive factors indicates that the natural gas heavy-duty truck market will maintain a strong development momentum in the future.    

02

Multiple companies doubled and skyrocketed

According to the data from the compulsory traffic insurance, in January 2022, the top five brands in the domestic natural gas heavy-duty truck industry, namely Liberation, Heavy Duty Truck, Shaanxi Automobile, Dongfeng, and Foton, dominated; Only the top two companies sold over a thousand vehicles in the current month; Enterprises such as Heavy Duty Truck, Foton, and United Heavy Truck have doubled their sales and skyrocketed.

Liberation won the sales champion in January, with a market share of over one-third, further consolidating its market leading position. According to data from compulsory traffic insurance, in January 2022, Jiefang sold 2380 natural gas heavy-duty trucks, a significant increase of 99% year-on-year. This not only drove the growth of the entire industry, but also increased its market share to 37.4%, accounting for more than one-third of the market, fully demonstrating the Matthew effect of the stronger the stronger.    

Both Chongqing Heavy Duty Truck Group and Shaanxi Automobile Group performed equally well in January, ranking second and third in the industry respectively. According to data from compulsory traffic insurance, in January, the sales of heavy trucks for natural gas by China National Heavy Duty Truck Group reached 1427 units, a year-on-year increase of 248%, far exceeding the industry's growth rate. The market share increased to 22.4%, successfully jumping to the second place in the industry; Shaanxi Automobile sold 901 natural gas heavy-duty trucks, a year-on-year increase of 25%, with a market share of 14.1%, ranking third in the industry. The strong performance of these two companies has also injected new vitality into the entire industry.

In addition, the sales of Foton and Union Heavy Truck also doubled in January. According to data from compulsory traffic insurance, in January, Foton Natural Gas sold 538 heavy-duty trucks, a year-on-year increase of 222%, far exceeding the industry's growth rate. Its market share increased to 8.5%, ranking fifth in the industry; United Heavy Truck sold 22 natural gas heavy trucks, a year-on-year increase of up to 450%, with a market share of 0.4%, ranking ninth in the industry.

Compared to last year's year-end ranking, there have been some changes in the pattern of the natural gas heavy-duty truck market in January this year. Among the top ten companies at the end of last year, Liberation, Heavy Duty Truck, Shaanxi Automobile, Dongfeng, Foton, and Dayun, which ranked among the top six in the industry, all maintained their rankings. Among them, United Heavy Truck rose one place to ninth place on the monthly chart, showing impressive performance. At the same time, BAIC Heavy Truck successfully entered the top ten of the January monthly chart with outstanding performance, ranking 7th (BAIC Heavy Truck ranked 17th in the 2023 natural gas heavy truck year-end sales chart). These changes fully demonstrate the fierce and uncertain competition in the natural gas heavy-duty truck market, and also indicate more possibilities for the future market landscape.

In summary, the successful start of the natural gas heavy-duty truck market in the first month of 2024 fully demonstrates its strong market potential and sustained growth trend. In February, natural gas prices have steadily dropped to about 4100 yuan/ton, a decrease of over 30% compared to the end of last year. However, due to the impact of the Spring Festival holiday, the sales of natural gas heavy-duty trucks have been somewhat restricted. It is expected that with the end of the Spring Festival, the favorable trend of gas prices will continue in March, further stimulating market demand and promoting a new round of growth in the natural gas heavy-duty truck market.