Market Analysis of Intercity Coaches in the First Three Quarters 2010 ⅠB

www.chinabuses.org: Feature three: Sales growth of coaches were far faster than sales of sleeper buses in main bus builders, and market concentration for both coaches and sleeper buses are getting higher, and there is also some sign for sleeper buses to exiting markets. 

It can be seen from above that:

1. 87,398 coaches were sold out in the first three quarters for the fourteen bus builders, up 48.55% over last year. 2,150 sleeper buses were sold out, up 27.14%.

　　
2. 87,398 coaches were sold in the first three quarters, 84.97% of sales of coaches in total, sales of sleeper buses were 2,150 units, 88.99% of total sales of sleeper buses. 58,835 coaches produced by the top fourteen bus builders were sold, 84.06% of sales of coaches in total, and sales of sleeper buses amounted to 1,691, taking 88.67%. We can see that market concentration of coaches increased by 0.91%, and market concentration for sleeper buses increased by 0.32%.

　　
3. Sales of coaches has increased by 48.55%, and twelve of the fourteen bus builders had their coach sales increased, namely Golden Dratgon, Higer, Kinglong and Yutong, up 110.3%, 58.75%, 47.4%, and 34.56%. And sales of Young Man were not the biggest, but their increased coaches are all over one million RMB. We can see that sales of coaches were increasing, while sales of sleeper buses did not increase greatly. And the reasons can be summarized as followings:

　　
a. Sales of sleeper buses were not so many, and the sales is better in the places where there is no train or with not so goof economy.

　　
b. With the growth of CRH lines, coaches running in long distance cannot compete with train as short distance coaches’ transportation. So it is super large coaches that were much influenced, and 12m below coaches were not influenced much.

　　
c. Related China competent department sets a higher requirements on sleeper buses, which reduced their operation efficiency up to 20%.

　　
d. With China highway development, more and more long distance transport lines will be shortened, and sleeper bus markets will be much squeezed as related technologies are developing. China may adopt tougher policies on sleeper buses, their operation efficiency may be lower. However, for places with no trains or for some one who has preference to sleeper buses, there will be a relatively stable markets in a few years.

e. Seven of the fourteen main bus builders did not sell sleeper buses, and some manufacturers just quit producing sleeper buses.