Sales of passenger vehicles in China plummet 6.6% to 1.3m
Print Edition
THE slump in China’s car market worsened in July as sales contracted by 6.6 percent, according to industry figures released yesterday.
People in the world’s biggest market by number of vehicles bought 1.3 million cars, minivans and other passenger vehicles, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Sales growth that peaked at 45 percent in 2009 has declined steadily as the world’s second-largest economy cooled and cities imposed ownership limits to curb smog and congestion.
The fall in recent months has been far sharper than expected, leading General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG and Chinese SUV brand Great Wall Motors to cut prices.
Global car brands have invested heavily in trying to appeal to Chinese tastes.
On July 22, GM announced a US$5 billion plan to develop models with its main Chinese partner, Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp, to sell in China, India, Brazil and other developing markets.
Last month’s slide in sales followed June’s 3.4 percent decline, which was only the third such monthly contraction since September 2012.
This year’s downturn has been so abrupt that analysts who expected sales growth of up to 8 percent have cut their forecasts to as little as 1.7 percent.
Total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, fell 7.1 percent in July to 1.5 million vehicles, though some types were relatively strong. SUV sales rose 34.2 percent to 393,000 vehicles, the association said.
Sales of passenger vehicles in the seven months through July rose 3.9 percent year on year to 1.1 million. Total vehicle sales came close to stalling, rising just 0.4 percent to 1.3 million.
Sales by Chinese brands rose 5.1 percent to 494,000 and their market share rose by 1.2 points to 38.9 percent.
GM, which competes with VW for the status of China’s biggest-selling car brand, said sales by the company and its Chinese partners fell 4 percent in July to 229,175. For the year to date, sales rose 3.3 percent to 1.9 million.
Ford said its July sales of Ford-brand vehicles dropped 6 percent year on year to 77,100.
Nissan said its July sales fell 13.9 percent to 84,200. For the year to date, sales rose 2.8 percent to 672,100 units.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
