Transaction Prices in China Stabilize Month on Month, but Sales Pressure on European Luxury Vehicles Persists
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Transaction Prices in China Stabilize Month on Month, but Sales Pressure on European Luxury Vehicles Persists
In July 2026, joint-venture and imported businesses of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche in China generally recorded year-on-year sales declines. Average transaction prices stabilized modestly month on month, but retail revenue weakened significantly.
- Mercedes-Benz's July joint-venture sales were 21,583 units, down 13.6% year on year; imported sales were 5,319 units, down 31.8% year on year, with an imported-vehicle average transaction price of ￥921k, down 18.3% year on year and up 1.4% month on month.
- BMW's July joint-venture sales were 32,814 units, down 19.7% year on year, with a joint-venture average transaction price of ￥311k, down 6.5% year on year; the imported-vehicle average transaction price was ￥502k, up 7.0% year on year.
- Porsche's July sales in China were 1,922 units, down 48.3% year on year, with an average transaction price of ￥995k, down 5.3% year on year and up 1.6% month on month.
- Implied retail revenue for all three automakers declined sharply year on year: ￥12.7bn for Mercedes-Benz, ￥10.8bn for BMW, and ￥1.9bn for Porsche.
- Despite shrinking sales volumes, imported models continue to have significantly higher average transaction prices and margins than joint-venture products.
Report interpretation
Overview
This report tracks July 2026 retail sales volumes and average transaction prices in China for German premium and luxury automakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche, covering jointly produced and imported models. The key conclusion is that industry sales pressure remains substantial, but transaction prices for most products have stabilized on a month-on-month basis.
Core views
Sales volumes for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche all declined markedly year on year, with imported businesses showing particularly pronounced declines. On transaction prices, Mercedes-Benz's joint-venture and imported models, BMW's joint-venture models, and Porsche all declined year on year, while BMW's imported-model transaction prices rose year on year. Although transaction prices showed modest month-on-month recovery or stabilization, lower sales volumes still led to significant contraction in implied retail revenue for all three automakers.
Analysis framework
The report separately analyzes jointly produced and imported models based on monthly retail sales volumes, average transaction prices, and implied retail revenue calculated from sales volumes and transaction prices in the Chinese market, and explains product-mix changes through performance of key models.
Methodology notes
Break down sales volumes and average transaction prices by joint-venture and imported models
Monthly sales volumes and year-on-year and month-on-month changes are used to assess demand and pricing trends, while distinguishing structural differences between joint-venture and imported products.
Estimate retail scale by multiplying sales volumes by average transaction prices
The report derives implied retail revenue from sales volumes and average transaction prices to measure changes in monthly end-market sales scale.
Asset mapping & comparison
Structured mapping from thesis to named assets (strengths, weaknesses, peers, risks).
- MercedesChina sales volume and pricing tracking
- Strengths
- Average transaction prices for imported vehicles and unit prices of premium models remain high; imported GLE sales grew 11.9% year on year.
- Weaknesses
- Both joint-venture and imported sales declined; S-Class sales fell 59.7% year on year, and total implied retail revenue declined 32.0% year on year.
- Comparison
- Imported-model transaction prices are significantly higher than those of joint-venture models, but imported sales volumes declined more sharply.
- Risks
- Weak premium-model demand, product-mix downtrading, and competition from local premium brands may continue to pressure sales volumes and transaction prices.
- BMWChina sales volume and pricing tracking
- Strengths
- Imported-model average transaction prices rose 7.0% year on year; M-series sales grew 22.6% year on year, demonstrating resilience in the high-performance vehicle product line.
- Weaknesses
- Joint-venture sales declined 19.7% year on year, imported sales declined 35.6% year on year, and joint-venture average transaction prices remained under pressure.
- Comparison
- Compared with Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, BMW's imported business showed stronger year-on-year transaction-price performance, but overall sales volumes still declined materially.
- Risks
- Pricing pressure on joint-venture models, weak import demand, and month-on-month declines in transaction prices for high-performance products.
- PorscheChina sales volume and pricing tracking
- Strengths
- The 911 average transaction price remained at ￥1.68mn, continuing to provide premium pricing support.
- Weaknesses
- Sales volume declined 48.3% year on year and implied retail revenue declined 51.0% year on year; Taycan was the main drag on the overall average transaction price.
- Comparison
- Porsche recorded the most significant declines in sales and revenue among the three automakers.
- Risks
- Demand and pricing pressure for electric models, intensifying competition in the luxury vehicle market, and the impact of continued sales declines on brand profitability.
Key data
- Mercedes-Benz joint-venture businessSales volume 21,583 units, -13.6% year on year; average transaction price ￥300k, -7.3% year on year and +0.4% month on monthJuly 2026
- Mercedes-Benz imported businessSales volume 5,319 units, -31.8% year on year; average transaction price ￥921k, -18.3% year on year and +1.4% month on monthOf which, premium-model sales volume was 2,164 units, -48.1% year on year; premium-model average transaction price was ￥1.45mn.
- Mercedes-Benz implied retail revenue￥12.7bn, -32.0% year on yearJuly 2026
- BMW joint-venture businessSales volume 32,814 units, -19.7% year on year; average transaction price ￥311k, -6.5% year on year and +0.2% month on monthJuly 2026
- BMW imported businessSales volume 3,563 units, -35.6% year on year; average transaction price ￥502k, +7.0% year on year and +0.7% month on monthM-series sales volume was 575 units, +22.6% year on year; M-series average transaction price was ￥795k, -1.0% year on year and -4.2% month on month.
- BMW implied retail revenue￥10.8bn, -31.4% year on yearJuly 2026
- Porsche China businessSales volume 1,922 units, -48.3% year on year; average transaction price ￥995k, -5.3% year on year and +1.6% month on monthThe 911 average transaction price was ￥1.68mn, -5.4% year on year; the Taycan average transaction price was approximately ￥949k, -24.6% year on year.
- Porsche implied retail revenue￥1.9bn, -51.0% year on yearJuly 2026
Impact & implications
Month-on-month stabilization in transaction prices helps mitigate the risk of continued deterioration in monetization per vehicle, but cannot offset revenue pressure from lower sales volumes. Imported vehicles' high transaction prices and margins remain an important earnings support for European luxury brands, but their sales declines and changes in demand for premium models will continue to affect product mix and earnings quality.
Risks
- Continued weakness in China's luxury passenger-vehicle demand.
- Further declines in average transaction prices due to price competition and product-mix changes.
- Contracting imported-model sales volumes reducing the contribution from high-margin businesses.
- Intensifying competition from local premium brands, particularly in large luxury sedans and new-energy vehicles.
- Monthly end-market data are volatile, and single-month performance may not represent long-term trends.
What to watch
- Whether average transaction prices for joint-venture and imported models can remain stable month on month.
- Demand performance following localization of the Mercedes-Benz imported GLE and the launch of long-wheelbase models.
- Premium demand and pricing trends for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Maybach.
- Whether BMW M-series sales resilience can continue.
- Changes in Porsche Taycan transaction prices and sales volumes, and the extent to which the 911 supports the product mix.
- Monthly sales volumes, imported-vehicle mix, and implied retail revenue trends for the three automakers.