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Chinese brands Haval, MG, LDV and Great Wall the most improved in 2020 new-car sales alongside Genesis and SsangYong

The MG3 finished 2020 as the best-selling light hatchback.

Ask most people about their thoughts on 2020 and they’d say it wasn’t exactly a great year, but some automotive brands are particularly pleased with their efforts during the 12-month period, and so they should be.

See, six in particular bettered their 2019 sales in Australia by significant margins, and four of them were Chinese, while the other two were Korean. Keep in mind the following happened in a market that was down 13.7 per cent, so it was a staggering set of results. Read on.

Genesis (229 units, +122.3%)

Given Genesis only launched as Hyundai’s standalone premium brand in June 2019, it’s no surprise its sales increased so considerably in its full year on the market (and admittedly from a very low base).

The GV80 large SUV launch in November, providing 52 incremental sales by the time 2020 was out, while the G70 mid-size sedan (118 units, +87.3%) started to make its presence felt alongside the renamed G80 large sedan (59, +47.5%).

Haval (3294 units, +93.1%)

Haval was another rare success story in 2020, but its achievement is arguably the hardest to comprehend given it wasn’t bolstered by the launch of new or facelifted models.

That said, its best-seller, the H2 small SUV (1988 units, +116.6%) was given a facelift in December 2019 and clearly found favour, while the H6 mid-size SUV (957, +101.5%) was nearly as impressive, but less so was the H9 large SUV (349, +11.9%).

MG (15,253 units, +83.2%)

MG increased its volume by more than other automotive brand in 2020, surging up the sales charts and placing itself within striking distance of a top-10 finish either this year or next.

Leading the way was the HS mid-size SUV (2600 units, +2385.3%) in its first full year on sale as well as the best-selling light hatchback on the market, the MG3 (7158, +78.2%), while the ZS small SUV (5494, +47.3%) was also a significant player, with its EV variant launched in November.

The Korando mid-size SUV launched in November 2019. The Korando mid-size SUV launched in November 2019.

SsangYong (1751 units, +68.4%)

Much like the other Korean on this list, SsangYong is a ‘newcomer’, having only relaunched in December 2018, so 2020 was only its second full year on the market, hence its marked improvement.

Given it only launched in November 2019, the Korando mid-size SUV (252 units, +472.7%) grew significantly last year, while the Musso ute (1084, +98.9%) and Rexton large SUV (323, +51.6%) also improved, with the former getting a long-wheelbase version in May 2019.

LDV (9323 units, +43.9%)

LDV has become a serious player, having been steadily building for years now, with 2020 no exception as it focused on launching a new model and expanding two others.

The Deliver 9 large van launched in October, adding 162 sales, while the D90 large SUV (715 units, +170.8%) and T60 ute (5581, +58.1%) surged following the launch of new variants in April and May respectively. The G10 mid-size van (1627, +23.1%) also experienced growth.

The Steed ute shouldered most of the load in the 2020. The Steed ute shouldered most of the load in the 2020.

Great Wall (1941 units, +38.5%)

Another commercial vehicle specialist, Great Wall continued to make noise in 2020, riding a wave of momentum to increase its sales despite having a very limited model line-up.

In fact, the second model, the GWM Ute, only launched in December, when it managed 109 sales. Its other ute, the Steed (1832, +30.8%), therefore shouldered most of the load, but expect that to change this year.